Christmas with the Gems
by White Fire the Dragon
Summary: A story split into parts that tells of the Gems and Steven spending the holiday season as a big family for the first time. Antics and trouble ensue all leading up to Christmas day.
1. What is Christmas?

**What is Christmas?**

It was a snowy December afternoon and the Gems, Greg and Steven were hard at work while Lion slept in front of the fireplace. It was that time of year, Christmas time. They had already finished the outside and most of the inside. They had just finished placing the last ornament on their Christmas tree, so now, there was only one thing left to do.

"Steven, do you have the star?" Asked Pearl.

"Right here!" Steven excitedly exclaimed as he removed a gold painted metal star, that sat atop a spiral of metal so that it would sit comfortably from atop the Christmas tree, from its box.

This was his favorite part of decorating, putting the star on top of the tree. Just as he started making his way to Garnet so that she could lift him up for him to perform his task, the warp pad activated and out from it emerged two Gems, Peri Peridot, and "Doc" Ruby. (In this universe, Jasper was cured of her corruption because she wasn't corrupted for very long. Afterwards, she and Bismuth were redeemed as friends after finally seeing the error of their ways. Later on, the Ruby Squad joined them as well. They even accepted their new nicknames and started going by them so that the others could specify who they were talking to. Peri even started using her nickname like a first name, and her actual name like her last name.)

"You're absolutely wrong!" Argued the key-lime green skinned Gem.

"Oh, please, that episode is garbage!" Argued the red skinned Gem.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

"I WILL NOT!"

They turned to face the residents of the beach house but closed their eyes while keeping their hands behind their backs as Peri spoke.

" _Ahem_ , Steven, would you kindly inform this erroneous **clod** that she is incorrect in assuming that the best episode of Camp Pining Hearts is—!"

Upon the word "clod", Doc opened her eyes, slightly, intending to momentarily give Peri a sideways glare; however, upon opening her eyes, she then took notice of the change in the appearance of Steven's home. Peri stopped talking once she too opened her eyes to see the scenery around her. The top edges of the walls were lined with red and white garland and matching blinking lights. A green wreath was hung on the outside of the screen door, red ribbon was found on some of the doors in the house, including the refrigerator, green, pine-ish garland went on the outer edge of the kitchen bar, and to top it all off, standing tall, in the middle of the room, was a tall spruce tree that looked just big enough to fit through the door. The tree was decorated with more bright, blinking lights, shiny, small, spherical objects, etc.

Peri and Doc stopped their petty squabbling so that they could continue to look around the room, silently admiring the decorations.

"Wow, these are some impressive meep-morps." Said Peri.

Steven chuckled at her assumption.

"Peri, these aren't meep-morps." He said. "They're decorations. You know, for Christmas?"

"Kriss-muss?" Asked Peri.

"What is 'kriss-muss'?" Asked Doc.

Steven gasped in realization, dropping the star in the process.

"Oh, my gosh! That's right, you and the other Gems have never even **heard** of Christmas!"

"I repeat what _she_ said, 'What is 'kriss-muss'?'" Said Peri, repeating what Doc said.

"Allow me to explain." Said Pearl, stepping between the residents and the two barn Gems. "You see, a long time ago—"

"Wait!" Said Steven, cutting Pearl off. "They should all hear it. Maybe Lapis and the others will want to celebrate Christmas **with** us."

"That's a great idea, Steven." Said Garnet.

"Sure, I bet they'll love it." Agreed Greg.

"Well, what are we waiting for, Christmas? C'mon, last one to the barn's a cuppa rotten eggnog!" Joked Amethyst as she ran passed everyone, made it to the warp pad and activated it, warping herself to the barn.

The rest followed suit once Steven and Greg had on their coats. As the glow of the warp disappeared, the sight of the countryside soon came into view. Just about every part of the scenery was covered in a thick blanket of snow, especially the barn. Even the small lake outside of the barn became frozen solid. All around, tiny snowflakes floated down from the sky, only adding to the lovely, wintery scenery.

Amethyst was already there, and once the rest of them had finally arrived, they all made their way to the barn. Navy was seen sitting at the entrance to the barn, admiring the scenery. Once she noticed her friends approach, she joined them as they entered the barn. Upon entrance, the residents of the barn could be found doing their usual thing. Jasper was doing bench-presses with Eyeball sitting on the bar, spotting her. Army was practicing her combat skills on her punching bag. And Bismuth, Leggy, and Lapis, with Pumpkin sitting on her lap, were sitting on the couch, watching Camp Pining hearts.

In order to make room for their new "barnmates", Peri and Lapis had decided to put in a back room to keep their morps safe. They were planning on adding more space to the back room. Since things had been quiet for a while, Bismuth was convinced to spend some time at the barn so that she could become closer to the new crystal Gems, and it worked… sort of. Lapis was still getting used to her, what with Bismuth being partially responsible for Lapis being trapped in a mirror. Also, Peri, Doc and Bismuth installed a heater so that the silo-quarium wouldn't freeze.

"LAPIS?! I TOLD YOU TO KEEP IT PAUSED UNTIL WE GOT **BACK**!" Shouted Peri while Doc held her face, groaning.

Lapis turned her head upon hearing her friend and first roommate shout her name from the bottom level of the barn.

"SORRY, LEGGY SAT ON THE REMOTE AND I COULDN'T BE BOTHERED TO PAUSE IT AGAIN!" Lapis shouted back.

"Oh… SORRY!" Leggy shouted, nervously.

" _(groan)_ … JUST… FORGET IT, OKAY?!" Shouted Peri. "JUST GET DOWN HERE, STEVEN WANTS TO TELL US SOMETHING!"

This got everyone's attention, for they all sat up straight after hearing this, and then soon made their way to the visitors' location.

"What's goin' on, meatball?" Asked Bismuth.

"Steven wishes tell us about something called… um… 'kriss-muss.'" Explained Doc.

"Kriss-muss?! Oh, no!" Shouted Leggy. "… Um… what's 'kriss-muss'?"

At this, everyone just groaned and rolled their eyes.

"Well, Christmas is—" Pearl was once again interrupted.

"Wait!" Shouted Steven. "This needs the proper setting."

So, with the help of the Gems, a small campfire was set up right in front of the barn with some chairs, logs and rocks set around it for everyone to sit on. The Gems even went back to the house to get some hot chocolate and marshmallows and Steven helped make sure that Pumpkin was bundled up nice and tight so that she wouldn't freeze, what with her being produce and all. Once everyone was seated around the campfire, it was finally time.

"So are you finally going to explain to us what 'kriss-muss' is?" Peri asked.

"Why, certainly." Said Pearl, standing up to begin her explanation. "You see, Christmas is—"

"Actually, Pearl, I think **Steven** should do the honors." Interrupted Greg.

And so, as Pearl sat down, once again, being kept from another opportunity to explain something, Steven stood up and began explaining. He told the barn resident Crystal Gems everything he knew about Christmas. He told them about blinking lights, decorations and tasty food. About the giving of gifts and the story behind the holiday. He even mentioned other holidays, but his main focus was on Christmas. Finally, he mentioned the figure-head of Christmas, Santa Claus.

"What's a… 'Santa' 'Claws'?" Asked Jasper.

"I bet it's some kinda' monster we gotta fight!" Said Eyeball.

"I bet I could take it!" Exclaimed Army as she began to fight nothing.

"Wait-wait-wait, Santa Claus isn't a **monster**!" Said Steven, trying his best to calm his friends.

"It won't be when _I'm_ done with it!" Army's statement proved that his attempts had failed.

"No, Santa Claus is a human!" This finally made the energetic ruby stop her close combat encounter with the air and falling snowflakes, thus allowing him to explain further. "Well, he's a human with Christmas magic."

"What kind of magic?" Asked Bismuth.

"Santa has been around for a really long time. He lives up in the North Pole with his wife, his Christmas elves and his nine tiny reindeer."

"I always thought it was **eight** tiny reindeer." Stated Greg.

"You're forgetting about Rudolf."

"Oh, yeah."

"What do these 'rain-deer' have to do with anything?" Asked Peri.

"And what's are 'elves'" Asked Lapis.

"The reindeer pull Santa's sleigh, and an elf is a short creature with pointy ears. There are a bunch of elves at the North Pole, and they all work for Santa and Missus Claus."

"Oh, so they're like pearls?" Asked Doc, before she realized what she had just said.

Once it finally hit her, she turned to see Pearl giving her a deep scowl.

"Uh, sorry." With the death glare she was receiving, Doc was eager to change the subject. "So, Steven, tell-us-more-about-Santa-Claus!"

"Oh, well, you see, Santa's been around for hundreds of years!"

"Hundreds? That's as impossible as it is for an ordinary human to live at the North Pole." Said Jasper. "Humans can't live that long."

"Well, Santa has, because, like I said, he has magic! Also, his reindeer can fly!"

Pearl took this opportunity to lean in close and whisper something to the barn Gems while Steven was busy with his explanation.

"I know this may be confusing, but he's really trying. If you can't follow, I'll tell you everything later."

"No thanks, I got it." Said Lapis, who then returned her attention to Steven before speaking. "So, Santa Claus is a human with magic that allows him to survive the frigid conditions of the North Pole, as well as live for hundreds of years with another human, nine magical flying reindeer and a bunch of short, pointy eared creatures?"

"Yeah, that's it." Said Steven, confirming her understanding of his explanation.

"Even **if** I were to believe any of that," said Jasper, "what purpose would such a human serve?"

"Yeah, and what does he have to do with Christmas?" Asked Peri.

"Oh, that's the best the part. For an entire year, Santa and his elves work hard to make toys and presents for all the good people in the world!"

Once again, the attention of the barn-bound Gems was caught.

"O-ho-kay," Bismuth tried her best to keep herself from laughing, "w-why?"

"It's his job. Every Christmas Eve, while everyone is sleeping, Santa drives his sleigh with his sack full of presents and candy in the back, being pulled by his flying reindeer, all around the world in one night. He goes inside people's houses just to give them presents! The stockings are usually filled with smaller gifts and candy, but he puts the bigger presents underneath the Christmas tree. Kids can write letters to Santa to tell him what they want, and if they're good, they might get them."

"Now, hold up!" Interrupted Bismuth. "If this Santa guy brings the presents, then why bother buying them _yourself_? Doesn't make much sense to me."

"To show that you care. But Christmas isn't **all** about the presents, Bismuth. It's about spending time with the people who care about you. You know, family and friends."

"Excuse me, Steven." Said Peri. "You said 'if they're good', that would imply that something happens to certain individuals who aren't 'good'."

"Oh, yeah." Steven adverted his gaze to the ground and scratched his head before speaking. "Santa only gives you presents if you've been good all year. If you've been bad, then he leaves you a lump of coal."

"Oh, _I_ see."

It would appear that everyone seemed to understand what Christmas was, but then, Leggy asked a very important question.

"Hey, um, why are we all here again?"

"Leggy!" Shouted her former captain. "We're… oh, well actually, I don't really **know** why we're here."

"You wanna take this one, Pearl?" Asked Greg.

"Why certainly." She responded. "You see, Steven wanted to invite you all to spend Christmas **with** us."

"It'll be fun! What do you say?" Asked the eager human/Gem hybrid.

There was a moment of pause, where the Gems were just sitting around the campfire, thinking.

"Ah, why not." Bismuth was the first to answer. "I've grown to like these human customs."

"I'll admit, I'm also—somewhat—interested." Said Peri. "Count me in, too."

"It sounds like fun." Said Lapis before turning her attention to her pet. "What do _you_ think, Pumpkin?"

Pumpkin responded with lots of happy excited barking.

"Sure, count me it." Said Jasper.

"Rubies," Doc addressed her former crew, now roommates and friends, "all in favor?"

"I." The rubies all said in unison.

"Well, I guess that's that." Confirmed Bismuth.

Steven smiled at the idea of his entire family spending Christmas together. Helping to decorate the barn, eating Christmas dinner, exchanging gifts… but then his smile disappeared for a second and then reappeared with the stars in his eyes.

" _(gasp)_ Steven has an idea! Why don't we all be Secret Santas?"

"There's more than one?" Asked Peri.

"No… hold on, I'll be right back." Steven went into the barn and then came back with a pencil, paper, and a top hat. "Here's how Secret Santa works. First, we each write our names down on a piece of paper, fold them up and put them in the hat. Then, we each take turns taking a name out of the hat and whoever's name we draw, that's who you'll be a Secret Santa for. Whoever's name you choose, you gotta buy them an extra-special Christmas present."

Steven then proceeded to rip the paper into pieces and pass them out. Once he signed his own name, Steven passed the pencil down to everyone around the campfire. The names were then taken up and placed in the hat. Once everyone's name was in the hat, Steven took the hat and shook it, so is to mix up the names.

"Alright, now, who's first?" He asked.

"I'll go first." Said Peri.

Peri approached the hat and removed a single piece of paper from the confines of the hat. She then opened it up and silently read the name inside.

"Oh, I got—"

"No! Peri, you have to keep it a secret until Christmas. That's why it's called 'Secret' Santa."

"Oh, so I see."

"You're next Lapis."

Steven held the hat out in front of him and allowed Lapis to take a name. She opened it up and her eyes widened when she silently read the name written on the paper. She sat back down next to Peri and tried her best to inconspicuously avoid looking at whom she had picked. The hat was passed around from Gem to Gem, ending with Steven, who received the final name left in the hat.

"So, now what?" Asked Jasper.

"Well, we just finished decorating the house." Said Greg. "Maybe we can all go into town tomorrow morning and see if we can buy some more Christmas decorations to decorate your barn."

"Hey, Dad." Said Steven. "Instead of going into town, why don't try the Crystal Clear Mall in Empire City? That way, we can buy Christmas decorations _and_ our Secret Santa gifts at the same time."

"Huh, I guess that could also work. What about _you_ guys?"

The barn Gems only response was a nod of each of their heads, some even smiled. And so, the plan was agreed upon that the following morning, all of the Crystal Gems, plus Greg, would go to the Empire City Crystal Clear Mall for Christmas shopping. It's just twelve (or so) Gems, one human adult, and a human/Gem hybrid child in a public city mall. What could possibly go wrong?


	2. The 12 (or so) Gems

**The Twelve (or so) Gems of Christmas**

It was early in the morning. Pearl had suggested that they all leave extra early in the day so that they could get the most out of the day by when it was time to leave. Christmas shopping for a big family can take an awful long time. So the sun was just rising above the horizon by the time they reached the Crystal Clear Mall in Empire City. It was placed in one of the more cleared out areas because it was so massive. From the outside, the area it sat on looked equivalent to ten city blocks.

Greg, Bismuth, Jasper and Garnet exited the van while Pearl and the Rubies exited the Dondai. Because of the size of their family, they had to travel to the mall via **three** separate vehicles. Once everyone who had travelled by car was outside, Pearl pulled out the Cookie Cat walkie-talkie, turned it on and spoke into it.

"Alright, everyone's here."

"Okay, we're on our way." Steven responded.

Steven, Amethyst, Peri and Lapis had decided to travel to the mall via Lion. Since they knew the ride there by car was pretty long, and that Lion could create super warps with his roars and transport them there in no time flat, Greg and Pearl both agreed that it would be best to call them when they arrived first so that the four of them wouldn't have to wait in the cold.

"Now, Pumpkin, you be good while we're gone." Said Peri to hers and Lapis' produce pet.

It was also decided that since Pumpkin was produce and didn't like the freezing cold, she should stay inside of Steven's house while they were out. Pumpkin's only response to Peri's words was barking happily in the little Gems arms.

"Doooohhhh… good girl."

After petting her head, Peri then put Pumpkin down and got on Lion, right in between Lapis and Amethyst.

"Alright, Lion. Let's go!" Steven cheered.

"We'll be right back, Pumpkin." Said Lapis.

With a mighty roar, Lion opened a super warp to the mall and jumped through it with the three Gems and one hybrid on his back, leaving the little gourd all alone. Soon, Lion was standing in the mall parking lot. It looked just like the way that Beach City looked. From the parking lot ground to the roof of the glass building, everything was covered in a thick blanket of snow. Unfortunately, it was at this time that the wind started to pick up, causing even the **Gems** to shiver. Even though the Gems didn't normally wear real clothes, Steven had convinced them all to dress in winter clothing the previous night, before they left the barn. At this point, they were glad that they all had agreed to it.

" _Brrr_ …" Said Bismuth. "Sure am glad your Uncle Andy left this coat behind…"

Another gust of wind blew in through the cars.

"D-d-dang! Give me a nice hot l-l-l-lava bath any day!"

As they walked across the parking lot to the front door, everyone huddled around the Rubies to keep warm. The more annoyed, bashful or embarrassed they became as they walked with everyone gathering around them, the more heat their bodies gave off, and the warmer they made everyone else. Lion helped as well by keeping close to Steven like a giant, fluffy blanket, but he too was feeling the chill of winter through his pink coat.

After about two or three minutes of walking, the multi-colored family finally reached the front door and entered the mall. Everyone was thankful to be out of the cold. Even though it was still _somewhat_ cold, it was nowhere **near** as cold as it was outside, ergo, it was slightly warmer, which meant that they could all stop huddling around the Rubies. Lion wasn't allowed to enter, so Steven sent him home with his other Cookie Cat walkie talkie tied around his neck so that he could call him when they were done. Lion wasted no time warping home to get out of the cold.

The mall looked far larger on the inside than it did on the outside. Three floors high, each one with a large number of stores that sold different things, and every inch of the mall was decorated with beautiful Christmas decorations. As they walked down the mall's foyer, they looked around to try and see as much as they could before Pearl called their attention.

"Alright everyone, now let's all discus the rules so that we can avoid any… _(ahem)_ unforeseen incidents." Pearl eyed Amethyst and Peri.

* * *

 **Flashback**

It was a hot summer day when Steven, Connie, Amethyst and Peri stood outside the Maheswaren's house, on the side walk. They were awaiting the arrival of an incoming ice-cream truck.

"There it is!" Exclaimed Connie, spying the vending vehicle.

"It's almost here!" Exclaimed Steven.

The truck drew closer, but just as it arrived, it drove right past them.

"Ah, man!" Said Connie.

"Oh, what?!" Exclaimed Amethyst.

"But… but… but…" said Peri, "THAT'S TOTALLY UNFAIR! We've waited here for who-knows-how-long and the **clod** driving that vehicle just goes right passed?!"

"Hey, it's alright, Peri." Said Steven trying to calm her. "He probably just didn't see us."

"Yeah." Agreed Connie. "I'm sure he'll come back later."

" **Oh** , no! Nope, nuh-uh, no way!" Said Amethyst. "We're gettin' our ice-cream **to** _ **day**_! C'mon, Peri!"

"I'm with you, Amethyst!" Exclaimed Peri.

With that, the two Gems hurried down the sidewalk, chasing down the truck. As a means to get him to stop, Amethyst shape-shifted into a megaphone that fell into Peri's hands. Peri then proceeded to shout into the megaphone.

"You, in the vehicle! I must request that you cease your departure at once and relinquish your frozen dairy paste confectioneries to us!"

The truck just kept driving away.

"He's still not reducing his speed!"

"Oh, what?!" Exclaimed Amethyst. "That's it!"

Amethyst then changed back and brought out her whip. When she saw this, Peri followed the purple Gem's lead and brought out her sling. The two of them began twirling their weapons in the air. The faster Peri spun her sling, the more power it would build up. Amethyst then threw her whip and Peri unleased an energy attack from her sling, both of which were aimed right at the truck.

* * *

 **Flashback over**

"Hey, in our defense, that ice-cream truck driver was totally asking for it!" Amethyst stated.

"Agreed." Said Peri.

" _(ahem)_ As I was saying," Pearl said, sounding quite strict, "let us now discuss the rules. Then we can all go about our 'Christmas business'.

First of all: No starting fights! That means with others or with each other.

Second: Do not take things out of a store without paying for them!

Third: Try not to break anything, and if so, please try to clean it up without making a **bigger** mess.

Fourth: NO WEAPONS!

And finally: We all meet up back here when we are all finished so that we can return home, alright?"

Everything was—reluctantly—agreed upon.

"Good."

"Alright, now, everyone, take some money and don't lose it." Said Greg, handing everyone a wad of cash. "Everyone gets $200. That should be about enough to cover a Christmas present for your giftee and some decorations for the barn, if you find some."

"Now, let's all disperse in orderly groups so that—"

"SPLIT UP!" Doc shouted.

All of a sudden, a dust cloud formed around them as they all started heading off. Once the dust cloud had cleared, it was definitely clear that everyone was gone except for Pearl, Greg, Steven, Lapis and Peri, who were all lying dazed on the floor.

* * *

 **The first Gem of Christmas, Steven, gave to me… A trip to see Santa Claus.**

Steven, Peri, and Lapis were all a part of a group with Pearl and Greg to keep an eye on them. They were all heading to a specific part of the mall. Where it was and why they were heading there was a complete mystery to Lapis and Peri.

"Care to explain where it is that we're heading?" Asked Peri.

"I told you, it's a surprise, but you're gonna love it. I promise." Said Steven.

After a bit of walking, the group had arrived at a part of the mall that appeared to be the most decorated. The area was covered with cotton that was used as a means to imitate snow. At the center of it was what appeared to be a throne between two Christmas trees and surrounded by presents. Peri and Lapis just stood there for the moment to stare at what was before them.

"Dad and I do this every year in Beach City."

"But, what _**are**_ we doing?" Asked Lapis.

"Oh, we're—"

"Steven!" came a familiar voice.

They all turned to the direction the voice came in, only to find that the source was none other than Steven's best human friend, Connie Maheswaren. She was standing with her parents, Doug and Dr. Priyanka Maheswaren, at the end of the line.

"Connie!" Steven shouted, happy to see his best human friend.

Steven rushed over to meet her at the end of the line.

"What are you doing here?"

"We're here to see Santa Claus."

" _That's_ why we're here?!" Asked Peri in surprise.

"Well, actually… _he's really not the real Santa_." Connie said that last part quietly to Peri quietly.

"Oh… then **why** are we here?"

"Because he works for Santa!" Steven exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Said Connie. "You come in, sit in his lap, and then you tell him what you want for Christmas and he'll relay your request to the **real** Santa Claus himself."

"Really?" Asked Peri and Lapis, simultaneously.

"Yeah!" Said Connie and Steven, simultaneously.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Asked Peri, excitedly. "Let's go!"

Peri jumped onto Lapis' back, who summoned her water wings, and the two of them were about to fly off to the front of the line.

"Wait!" Steven jumped up and floated right in front of them, blocking their path. "You can't just cut to the front of the line."

" _Greeeeat. More magical people_." Said Doug, under his breath.

" _Doug, we promised to be more open-minded_." Priyanka whispered to her husband.

"Why can't we?!" Peri asked Steven.

"Because it's illegal!"

"And it's not fair!" Said Connie, sternly. " **Everyone** here is waiting their turn and you have to, as well. It's only fair."

After a moment of hesitation, Peri groaned and then gestured for Lapis to bring them down to the floor.

"Fine, we'll… _**wait**_." Peri reluctantly agreed.

And so, they all stayed in line… waiting.

* * *

 **The second (or so) Gem of Christmas, Garnet, gave to me… Two different stores, and a trip to see Santa Claus.**

Garnet was walking around the mall, wondering which store would be the best to shop for her giftee. After about thirty minutes or so of walking around, she had arrived at a bridge that sat between two different stores. One was a sporting goods store. The other was a store that sold miscellaneous items.

"Hmmm…" Garnet looked at the two stores that she was currently standing between.

She faced the sporting goods store and walked toward it, but then stopped and looked over at the other store.

"Well, that one _does_ have a higher probability of success."

She faced the other store and walked toward it, but then stopped and looked over at the sporting goods store.

"Mm, then again."

She faced the sporting goods store and walked toward, but then stopped. She was caught at a crossroads. She faced the sporting goods store.

"I should go to **that** store!" Garnet said somewhat angrily.

"No, I would have a higher probability of finding the perfect gift in **there**." Garnet said in a more calmed manor.

"Why do we always do what _**you**_ say?!"

Suddenly, Garnet's body glowed bright, shifting in shape, and in an instant, she was split into the two Gems that made up Garnet, Ruby and Sapphire, both wearing winter wear.

"We should play it safe and shop at **that** store." Sapphire said sternly as she got up.

Ruby's only response was a low growl and an increase in her body temperature. But she then took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Alright, Sapphire. I guess I _may_ have overreacted a bit there. Why don't we compromise?"

" _(gasp)_ A 'compromise'?" Repeated Sapphire with a smile, walking too Ruby so that she could wrap her arms around her. "Is this _my_ Ruby talking?"

"Yep." Said Ruby, holding Sapphire's chin up before holding her by her shoulders with one arm leading her to the sporting goods store. "We both go in **this** store."

Sapphire responded by pushing her away.

" _(scoff)_ **That** is what you call a 'compromise'?!" Sapphire tried to quell her irritation by pinching where her nose would be. "Listen, Ruby. We both know that _I'm_ always right about these things, so let's just go to the store that **I** picked, buy a present for our giftee, and go home with the others, okay?"

" _Grrr_ … You always do this! We have to do whatever _you_ say just because you can see what **might** happen. We never do what _I_ think is best."

"Ruby, that is **not** true."

"Really? Name **one** time we do something that _I_ thought was best."

"What about having you pass yourself off as a Homeworld Ruby?"

"That was _**your**_ idea!"

"… Oh… Well, what about… uh… there was… um… now, _I_ know that you… hmm."

"See? We always do what _you_ think is best because you think that you're **always** right. Who said that _you're_ always right?!"

"You did, remember?"

"… Oh… Well I guess I was wrong, because I **know** that _I'm_ right this time."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really!"

"Well, then, if you're so sure, then why don't _you_ go buy something from _your_ store, and _I'll_ buy something from _mine_."

Ruby's eyes widened when she heard what Sapphire had suggested, and Sapphire did the same from behind her hair.

"I-I'm sorry." Sapphire apologized. "I-I didn't mean—"

"Wait! M-maybe… we could… j-just-this-once!

"What?!"

"W-well, I don't like it, but it… kinda sounds like a real compromise."

"… Oh…" Sapphire lowered her head in sadness. "I see."

"I-it won't be for long. Only until we each get—"

"No, it's okay. I understand." Sapphire then started raising her head to see Ruby. "I suppose it **does** sound like a real compromise, and we'll be able to see whose choice was the best one."

"So… um… I guess this is where we split up."

"Only until we're done!"

"Yeah, of course! But… _my_ giftee is really going to **love** my present." Ruby half-joked.

"Ruby, we have the same giftee."

"… Oh…"

"Well, good luck."

"Yeah, you too."

Then, the two of them slowly turned to face their respective store choices.

"… I'll be thinking of you." Said Sapphire.

"… Me too… um, but of you." Said Ruby.

" _(giggle)_ "

" _(nervous chuckle)_ "

And so, the both of them hesitantly walked towards the separate stores and entered. As Ruby entered the store that _she_ wanted to go shopping in, inside, it was like a maze of shelves. She walked around and wondered what her giftee would like.

As Sapphire entered the store that _she_ wanted to go shopping in, inside, it was like a maze of shelves. She walked around and wondered what her giftee would like.

Ruby passed some baseball equipment.

" _Hmmm_ … maybe she'd like **this**?" She said.

Ruby reached to grab a baseball bat, but then decided against it.

"Maybe not. Hey, Sapphy, what do you—?" But then Ruby remembered that Sapphire was in a different store. "Oh, right."

She decided to keep looking.

Sapphire walked into a random isle. It was filled with different types of knickknacks. Sapphire looked around, wondering what to get her giftee.

" _Hmmm_ … Ruby, perhaps we should—" But then Sapphire remembered that Ruby was in a different store. "Oh, of course."

" _Perhaps if I look into the future?_ " She thought, wanting to just get the right gift and leave.

Ruby looked at some random helmet.

"Maybe I could just grab something and go."

Sapphire closed her eye and Ruby reached for the helmet, but before they could perform those very acts, they both remembered something that Steven mentioned when he last explained what Christmas was about. He mentioned that Christmas wasn't about gifts; it was about giving from the heart. They then realized that if they did what they were about to do, then they wouldn't be giving from the heart… metaphorically. They'd just be cheating so that could leave, which was rather selfish. So, they both brought their hands back to their original positions, turned to face the rest of the isles that they were in, and walked off to continue searching for the perfect present that would be from their "hearts", figuratively, that is. They wanted to give a gift that would show that they cared.

* * *

 **The third Gem of Christmas, Pearl, gave to me… Three cups of cocoa, two different stores, and a trip to see Santa Claus.**

As time passed, the line to see Santa Claus was hardly moving at all. In fact, it grew faster than it was moving; so much so, that some mall employees dressed as Christmas elves came along just to expand the velvet rope.

" _Grrr_ … What. Is. Taking. So. Long?" Complained an impatient Peri.

"Some kids have a lot of Christmas wishes to tell Santa." Said Greg.

" _And_ some _can't hold in their hot chocolate when sitting on his lap._ " Priyanka whispered to the adults, gaining chuckles from the three of them.

" _Remember that one year when_ _ **Steven**_ _had that problem?_ " Pearl whispered to Greg.

" _(stifled chuckle)_ _Yeah. Amethyst kept laughing all the way home._ " Greg whispered.

" _Believe it or not, but_ Connie _was like that one year. (stifled chuckle) We couldn't believe our eyes._ " Doug whispered.

" _I guess_ _ **all**_ _kids get like that at least_ _ **once**_ _._ "

" _(snicker)_ _Yeah._ " Then a thought came to Priyanka's head as she looked ahead to see the rest of the line. "Say, Greg, why don't Doug and _I_ watch the kids while you and Pearl go and get us some hot chocolate? I've got a feeling that we're gonna be here a while."

"Wait, really?" Asked Greg.

"Really?" Asked Doug.

" **Really**." Confirmed Priyanka.

"Well, alright. What do you think, Pearl?" Asked Greg.

"I suppose that would be fine." Pearl agreed.

"Okay, then." Said Priyanka.

"Alright." Agreed Doug.

Greg and Pearl directed their attention toward _their_ family.

"Alright, you three behave yourselves while Pearl and I are gone." Said Greg.

"Okay, Dad." Steven agreed.

"Very well." Peri agreed.

"There's not really much we can do." Lapis admitted.

"We'll be back as soon as possible." Said Pearl as she and Greg turned to exit the line.

"Yeah, we'll be right ba—uh-whoa- _oof_!" Said Greg as he tried to cross over the velvet rope, only to fall over it and onto his face, earning him a round of big laughs from the other children in line that he didn't know.

After the "minor-humiliation" was over, Greg and Pearl made their way to a nearby café to purchase their hot chocolate while having a friendly chat.

" _Heh_ , you know, Pearl, ever since the last time we came to this city, you and I have been getting along… well, pretty well." Said Greg, scratching the back of his head a bit.

"Yes, we have." Pearl agreed. "I'm glad that we've moved past our… well, past."

"And… you know, Pearl… I've gotta be honest with you. Ever since Rose… left us, out of all of the Crystal Gems, you're the **one** Gem who's acted the most like a mother to Steven. Rose would be proud of you… just like I am." Greg kept facing the floor as he spoke so that Pearl wouldn't see his blush.

"R-really?"

"Well, yeah. I'm glad that Steven has **all** of you, but… I'm especially glad that he has you to look after him the way that you do." He only blushed deepened as he continued to speak.

"W-why, Greg!" It was at that moment that Pearl started to blush as well. "That's so… so…"

Just as she was about to say the word "sweet", she took notice of something.

"Oh! We're here."

Greg turned and saw that the two of them had indeed arrived that café that they were looking for.

"Oh, right… The hot chocolate."

"Well, let's not delay." And with that, Pearl entered the café with Greg following behind her.

Fortunately for them, the line _here_ was **nowhere** near as long as the line to see Santa, so they didn't have to wait as long; in fact, it only took them about three minutes to reach the cash register and place their order. As they received the three medium and two small cups of hot cocoa, they thought that they would be back with the Maheswarens, two Gems and Steven in no time. Once Pearl picked up the cocoa, she began making her way to the exit, but then slipped on some spilt coffee and fell back.

Greg was about to catch her, but Pearl was—instead—caught mid-fall by a large, feminine arm. Fortunately, none of the hot chocolate fell. It remained in the cup tray in Pearl's hands.

"Whoa. Watch your step, there." Said the large woman, to whom, the arm belonged to.

Once Pearl had opened her eyes and Greg had look up, both of their eyes widened and blushes appeared on their cheeks. Greg couldn't believe what he was seeing for a minute. At first glance, she almost looked just like Rose Quartz, but then, he began to notice the differences. _This_ woman's face didn't seem as soft as Rose's, her skin was more tanned, her eyes were blue, and finally, her hair was cut short, and Greg also took notice of the various piercings that she had. It didn't take him long to realize that this woman wasn't Rose.

"Sabina?!" Greg heard Pearl say with such excitement.

The woman's eyes widened when she finally got a good look at the slender woman in her arm.

"Pearl?!" She said with the same level of excitement as she helped Pearl back into a standing position. "Ha-ha…! I haven't seen you since our date!"

"'Your **date** '?!" Exclaimed Greg in great confusion.

"Oh, Greg…!" Said Pearl, remembering who she was with. "Um, this is Sabina. A girl who I officially met at a garage band concert."

Greg then started to remember something.

"Oh, yeah. I think Steven mentioned that after you all got back."

"Yes, well, while we were there, she gave me her number and we later on went on a date, but then she had to leave." Pearl then turned her attention back to Sabina. "As a matter of fact, what are you doing _**here**_?"

"What's the matter?" Said Sabina. "Not happy to see me?"

"Oh, no! I'm thrilled to see you again! I was hoping to see you whenever you got back. I just didn't expect you to come back so soon; especially here in Empire City."

"I know. I was just teasing. And I could ask _you_ the same thing, for that matter." Sabina said with a wink. "Tell you what; I'll tell you if you have a cup of cocoa with me."

"Oh, Sabina," Said Pearl, nervously rubbing her thumbs together. "I would love to, but you see—"

" _ **We**_ have to get back." Greg said before Pearl could finish. "Sorry to have to leave like this, but we really can't stay, I'm afraid."

Greg then took hold of Pearl's wrist and began leading the way to the exit, but was then stopped by Pearl.

"Actually, Greg, I'm sure that it would be alright to stay for a minute or so."

Greg turned to look at Pearl, curiously.

"But, Pearl, what about Steven and the others."

"Oh, I'm sure that they'll all be fine. And it'll be nice to catch up."

"Perfect, just let me order my drink." Said Sabina.

Once she received her cup of hot cocoa, the three of them sat down at a table.

"So, what are you doing _here_ , of all places?" Asked Sabina.

"Oh, just a little Christmas shopping." Said Pearl.

"Really? Small world, that's exactly why _I'm_ here."

"Why, how lovely!"

Sabina took a sip of her cocoa before speaking.

"So what's new with you?"

"Oh, you know, the usual." Pearl used her fingers to count the usual events in her life. "Child care, training, family drama, fighting for my life and for the fate of the Earth."

" _(laugh)_ Oh, don't I know it?"

" _Highly doubtful_." Greg said quietly, but not quietly enough to keep from being heard.

Greg's eyes widened when he noticed that the girls had stopped talking and were now looking at him.

"What was that?" Asked Sabina with a suspicious look.

"Huh?! Oh, me? Oh, uh, just… uh, nothing."

"Uh-huh." Sabina said, skeptically.

Greg tried to hide himself behind his cup of cocoa by taking a sip.

"So, Pearl, how long have you known… _Garry_ , was it?" Asked Sabina.

"It's **Greg** , actually." Said Greg.

" _Right_ … _**Greg**_."

Pearl could sense the tension at the table as if it were a rather fragrant odor. It was most uncomfortable. She decided to take an actual sip of _her_ cocoa, thinking that the unpleasant sensation of swallowing liquid would ease the tension.

* * *

 **The fourth (or so) Gems of Christmas, Amethyst and Jasper, gave to me… Four restaurants, three cups of cocoa, two different stores, and a trip to see Santa Claus.**

Jasper and Amethyst had just finished their Christmas shopping and were now wandering around the mall with a box in each of their arms. One box was filled with Christmas decorations while the other was filled with their Christmas presents to their respective giftees.

"Wow, that was easy." Commented Amethyst.

"And kind of fun." Commented Jasper.

They had previously entered one of the more chaotic stores. People everywhere were fighting over everything that was on sale. Most people would see this as a challenge or a nightmare, but to the two Earth Quartz sisters, they saw this as an opportunity to let off some steam while gift shopping. Technically they didn't start the fight, so they saw that as a loophole to Pearl's rule.

"Did'ja see me toss that guy into the shelf?!"

"Did'ja see _me_ toss off all of those people just by flexing?!"

"Oh-ho, man. That was so awesome! Almost as awesome as when you charged through those crowds just to grab those decorations!"

"Well, what about _you_ spinning with your whip to get us to the front of the checkout line?! That was pretty awesome!"

They both shared a haughty laugh as they entered the food court. When they finally noticed where they were, they stopped and stared at the four different restaurants sitting beside each other. When Jasper first joined the Crystal Gems, she wasn't so confident in joining human society, so, Amethyst decided to help her. The way that _she_ saw it, Jasper was the closest thing that she had to a " **blood** -related" relative on Earth, in a manner of speaking. Since she was looking for redemption, Amethyst felt like she needed to help her "sister". One of the things that she felt the most pride in teaching her was of the concept of… **eating**. At first, Jasper was unsure, but as she got more and more used to it, she started to enjoy it. Eventually, she had come to enjoy it almost (maybe even **just** ) as much as her "little-sister".

After a moment, the two of them looked at each other with a looks that said "Are you thinking what _I'm_ thinking?" and "Totally!". Since the store that they shopped at was selling everything on sale, they had more than plenty of money left over. So, with boxes under their arms, they both rushed over to the first restaurant. It was an Italian themed pizza restaurant. When they were done ordering, they went over to the restaurant next to it. It was a Chinese restaurant. Once they placed their orders for _that_ one, they went to the next one. It was a Japanese palace themed sushi restaurant. After they placed their orders, they went over the final restaurant. It was big city themed restaurant that sold all kinds of foods that street vendors would normally sell; hot dogs, sandwiches, sub or otherwise, falafel, etc.

At each restaurant, they both said the same thing with stars in their eyes, "We'll take one of everything!", before giving them their money and going on the next one. Each restaurant told them that it would take some time. When Jasper first started to enjoy food, whenever people would tell her that she had to wait for her food, Amethyst would have to hold her back from jumping over the counter and threatening the chef to hurry up. Now, she had learned, though she wasn't too thrilled about it, that sometimes, you have to wait for the things that you want most in life. So, she and Amethyst made their way over to their table and waited.

As two of them waited, Jasper started to recollect. In the past, she was a mighty Gem soldier who would never stop until she got what she wanted. The way that she saw it, she had wasted her time seeking revenge on someone who was already gone. She still remembered the day that she was cured of her corruption. She was inside the Crystal Gems' temple, where the Gems kept their bubbled Gems, and the first faces that she saw were Amethyst and Steven. Of course, back then, she still believed that Steven was Rose Quartz.

She was chained to a wall so that she couldn't hurt anyone. Despite their efforts, they couldn't convince Jasper that Steven wasn't Rose, but was, in fact, her offspring. It wasn't until she had finally broke free and attacked that she finally understood. Steven had been knocked back into his kitchen area. A knife was knocked down and fell beside him, but not before giving him a pretty sizable cut on his arm.

When she had seen Steven bleed for the first time, it finally started to sink in. She had seen Gems' bodies do many things; disrupt, change shape, drool, secrete snot, some could even bruise, but she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that it was absolutely impossible for Gems to bleed, because they had no blood inside of them. Whenever she had seen a Gem's form get cut, they would either just deform or disrupt and change before fixing itself. That wasn't the case with Steven, because he bled and didn't stop bleeding, even when he held onto his arm tightly, his arm continued to bleed.

Jasper was so confused, but as Amethyst explained how Steven was born, she finally began to understand. Rose Quartz was truly gone, and this… hybrid was all that was left of her. At first, since she had no way of leaving the Earth, she felt like she no longer had a purpose, but then Steven and Amethyst came to her and offered her a new option. She didn't have to serve anybody but herself. So long as she didn't cause trouble for anyone, she could be free. Even when she refused and suggested that they put her back in a bubble, Amethyst wasn't willing to let her give up on everything. Amethyst wanted to show Jasper everything that she, a Quartz who was born on Earth, same as her, could enjoy. She wasn't willing to give up on her "big sister".

Now, here she was, several months later, enjoying her time with her… family; Steven, Amethyst, and all of them. Of course, the two members of the Crystal Gems who she had come to respect the most out of all of them were Steven and Amethyst. She felt like she was **more** than just reformed; she was **reborn** anew, and it felt good.

"Yo, sis!" Amethyst called to her big sister when she noticed that she had drifted off into space.

"Hm?!" Jasper responded.

"You okay?"

"Huh…? Oh, yeah! I'm fine! Just… you know, remembering."

It wasn't really all that hard for Amethyst to figure out what she was thinking about, and when she did, she smiled. She knew that all of the Crystal Gems were her family, but it felt good to have a real sister.

 _ **DING**_

 _ **DING**_

 _ **DING**_

 _ **DING**_

"Order up!" Called the Italian restaurant.

"Order up!" Called the Chinese restaurant.

"Order up!" Called the Japanese restaurant.

"Order up!" Called the big city restaurant.

Jasper and Amethyst immediately responded by getting up and hurrying through all of the restaurants to get all of their food orders. Their entire table was practically a mountain of food. Any **normal** person eating this kind of food wouldn't make it through a quarter of it without getting sick. Fortunately, Jasper and Amethyst weren't normal people; they were Gems, Quartzes in fact. That meant that they could eat quite a lot of food without filling up or bloating.

A lot of people were eyeing the two of them as they ate, most of them not believing what they were seeing. As they ate, Amethyst smiled.

"This is nice." She said.

"What do you mean?" Asked Jasper.

"I mean it's nice to share this with someone. Whenever I would usually eat, Pearl would just get grossed out and Garnet and Steven don't really keep up. I guess, what I'm saying is… thanks… for… being my sister."

Jasper couldn't help but smile as well.

"No problem, Runt." She leaned around the table to tussle Amethyst's hair.

Amethyst would normally crush anyone who dared call her that, but ever since she and Jasper became sisters, that became Jasper's official nickname for Amethyst, and she grew to like it, but only from Jasper.

"Now, enough sappy stuff." Said Jasper. "Race you to the table!"

"Oh, you're on!"

And so, they two of them started their eating contest, starting from the peak of the mountain and working their way down.

* * *

 **The fifth Gem of Christmas, Bismuth, gave to me… Over FI-IFTY Christ-mas WI-ish-es… four restaurants, three cups of cocoa, two different stores, and a trip to see Santa Claus.**

Bismuth was still looking for a good enough store to go Christmas shopping in when she walked passed a door that caught her attention. She heard voices coming from it. Curiosity getting the better of her, she approached, causing the voices to become louder. It sounded like a heated argument.

"C'mon, man. We need you!" Said one of the voices

"Forget it!" Said the other. "Find someone _else_ to where the fat man suit and listen to a couple a' snot-nosed brats' wishes!"

After a second, a large man with a five o'clock shadow, wearing brown jacket and green pants came barging out of the door, followed by a much thinner man in a green suit, holding a red suit, pants, and a hat.

"Wait, come back! You can't have Christmas without **Santa**!" Shouted the man in the green suit before slamming the hand holding the red hat into his own face. " _(groan)_ Great. Just great. How am I supposed to find a big guy to play Santa Claus?"

"Hey, buddy, somethin' wrong?" Asked Bismuth.

The man went wide eyed when he laid eyes on her. It wasn't long until his look of surprise and awe, turned into a grin with his eyes looking in a different direction. Bismuth looked at him in confusion, and before she knew it, she was sitting in a big chair dressed in the red suit and wearing a fake white beard. She held her head in an unamused fashion, looking out to see the long line of children who all looked a little **too** excited for Bismuth's taste.

"So let me get this straight; you want me to just sit here all day and **lie** to a bunch of human kids?" She asked.

"Don't think of it lying." Said the man. "Think of it as… filling their little hearts with joy. How do you think those little kids will feel if the **one** person they all look forward to visiting in **this** very mall every year doesn't show up to see them? They'll be heart broken. Now, you don't want _that_ on your conscience; knowing that you might've ruined a bunch of little kids' Christmas, do you…? Plus, I'm desperate, and you're the only one here who can fit the suit. Please?"

Bismuth thought for a moment, only to relent when she saw the man intentionally try to make himself seem even **more** pathetic by begging on his knees.

"Please! I'll pay you whatever you want!"

"Alright! Fine, I'll do it. Just stop looking so sad and pathetic!"

"Sorry, it's just something I do." He said, getting up off of the floor. "Now, once the elves open the velvet rope, you start with the first child, listen to his request, smile, tell him to have a Merry Christmas, say 'Ho-ho-ho', give him a Christmas treat, send him on his way, to the right. Simple as that."

The man gave the order to open the velvet rope and the first child literally jumped up to sit on "Santa's" lap.

"Hi, Santa!" Said the little boy.

"Um… Hello, there… uh… little… child…"

"For Christmas, I want a bicycle, more video games, the entire Crying Breakfast Friends figure set…" The boy just went on and on, and Bismuth lost interest quite quickly. "… and lots and lots of candy!"

"… Hm?" Once Bismuth realized that the boy had stopped talking, she snapped back to reality. "Oh, are you done? Alright, sure. Santa will… probably get you that stuff. Ho-ho-ho, and Merry Christmas. Exit's that way."

Bismuth lifted the boy off of her lap and directed him to the exit. Almost instantly, the next child leapt up onto her lap and started going on and on about what _he_ wanted for Christmas. Once he was done and left, a little girl ran up and climbed onto Bismuth's lap so that _she_ could go on and on about _her_ Christmas wishes.

"I want a princess tiara, a princess dress, princess shoes, princess jewels, princess make-up, and a new skateboard! I want to be a skateboarding princess!" She just kept talking and asking for stuff, but Bismuth wasn't really listening.

Once the little girl left, twin siblings each took a knee and sat on it. They both asked for different things but almost the exact same amount of stuff. Once _they_ had left, then another boy came along, then another girl, then another child, then another, then another, until she had heard over **fifty** Christmas wishes; the ones that she was actually _listening_ to, at least. She felt as though she had been there, sitting in that chair, listening to the selfish desires of a bunch of kids, for almost the same amount of time as the time that she had spent in her bubble.

After about the nth child, another little girl stood next in line. She had blonde hair that was braided in the back, blue eyes, a little, white winter dress, puffy children's winter boots, white mittens and she was clutching a little doll rather tightly to her dress. She looked nervous and didn't appear to want to talk to anyone, but she relented to the elf encouraging her to walk up to Santa. Once she approached Bismuth's feet, she just stood there, looking down at the floor until Bismuth just grabbed her by the arm-pits and lifted her to her lap.

"Alright, little one. What is it?" She asked the child. "What do _you_ want for Christmas? Some fattening junk? Some junk you'll play with but then just toss it out the next day? What do you want, kid? I'm all ears."

The little girl simply sat there quietly, hugging her precious dolly, alternating her gaze from the floor to Bismuth.

"Well? I'm waiting."

After a minute or so, the little girl spoke.

"Um… Miss? Where is Santa?" She asked.

Bismuth was genuinely surprised that she had been found out.

"You don't look like the **real** Santa. Are you… one of his helpers?"

"Um… sure."

"Can you… tell Santa this for me?"

"Um… alright? What do you want?"

The little girl's grip on the doll tightened as she began speaking.

"I just want my daddy back so that my family can be together for Christmas."

Bismuth's eyes widened when she heard this.

"Uh, sure. W-where is your Gre—er—daddy?"

"My mommy says he went to where the angels are, up in the clouds."

"'Angels'."

Bismuth had heard that word before. Steven's friend Connie once spoke of the human's equivalence to "shattering" and that the human's soul would go to someplace filled with beautiful winged creatures called "angels".

"… uh… How did your daddy get there?"

"When he was fighting with his friends, overseas. He put on his green suit and left with them in a giant metal boat, but… he never came back."

As the little girl started tearing up, Bismuth began to put the pieces together in her head. The little girl's daddy was a soldier who died in the line of duty. This reminded Bismuth of all the friends that _she_ had lost in the Gem War of Earth.

"Miss helper-lady?" Said the little girl. "I want my daddy to come home for Christmas. Can you ask Santa if he can bring him home?"

Bismuth hesitated for a moment, she wasn't sure what to say.

"Miss?" She said again.

Bismuth took a deep breath and just said what she felt had to be said.

"Listen, kid. There're just… somethings that even _Santa_ can't do. Some wishes that can't be granted… I'm sorry, but… I'm afraid your daddy isn't coming home."

Hearing this was enough to make the little girl start crying. It started out small, but soon began growing in strength, tears and volume to the point where she was bawling her eyes out. The elves saw this and were about take the little girl to give her back to her mother, but then Bismuth put out her hand in a stopping gesture.

"Hold on. Let me just say something first." Bismuth then turned her attention to the little girl crying on her lap. "Look, I know how you must feel. It hurts… a lot. I know what it's like to lose someone close to you… to lose your family."

Hearing this, the little girl started quiet down her crying.

"Y-you _(choke)_ do?"

"Yes… I do." The little girl soon saw the tears gently flowing from _Bismuth's_ eyes, which helped her calm down more. "I lost a lot my closest friends. I didn't even get to say goodbye. I was so mad I… I wanted to… do something… bad."

"Did _(sniffle)_ … did _they_ go to the place in the clouds _(sniffle)_ , _too_?"

"I… don't know… maybe. But you know how I started to feel better?"

"How?"

"I talked to the friends and family who were still **with** me. I remembered that… as long as I have _them_ , I'm happy. And I'm sure… your daddy _is_ up there in the clouds," both Bismuth and the little girl looked up through the big part of the skylight that wasn't covered up by snow, "… and he's looking down on you, right now. I'm sure he misses and loves you very much, but he also probably wants you to be happy. He wants you to smile and be happy with the family and friends you have, now. Do you understand?"

" _(sniffle) (sniffle)_ Mm-hmm." The little girl, though she was still crying somewhat, smiled slightly, nodded and then gave Bismuth a hug. "I miss my daddy, but I want him to be happy in the cloud place. And I also want my mommy to be happy, too. Thank you, Miss helper-lady."

"You're welcome, you little sweetie." Bismuth said, returning the kind gesture. "And you can call me Bismuth."

After a second, a woman in a greenish-brown coat walked up to the two of them, smiling. The little girl looked up and smiled more.

"Hi, mommy." She said.

"Come on, honey. Let's go home now."

The woman picked up the little girl and held her in a hug-like fashion.

"Thank you, so much." The woman said to Bismuth. "We've both been emotionally struggling since my husband's passing, but you made my daughter smile, again. Thank you."

"I just said what I thought she needed to hear. She took care of the rest. Your little one there is strong."

"She is, indeed." She then looked to her daughter, who was resting her head on her mother's shoulder. "Alright, honey, say goodbye to Santa Claus."

The woman then turned to leave with her daughter.

"Goodbye, Miss Bismuth." The little girl said with a smile.

"See ya' around, you little sweetie." Said Bismuth.

As the girl and her mother walked away, Bismuth couldn't help but smile. Unfortunately, her smile didn't last long, for soon enough, another selfish child was upon her. She rolled her eyes at this, but she decided to go with it. As this went on, Bismuth would occasionally meet a good child who was rather nice and would rather wish for things for other people than for themselves, but she mostly had kids who were selfish, but that's just how kids are. With this going on, Bismuth actually forgot what she was doing before this.

* * *

 **The sixth Gem of Christmas, Peridot, gave to me… Six dozen presents… over FI-IFTY Christ-mas WI-ish-es… four restaurants, three cups of cocoa, two different stores, and a trip to see Santa Claus.**

Peri and Lapis were **still** in line with Steven, Connie, and Connie's parents. The line had moved somewhat, but they were **still** nowhere near the front of the line.

" _(exhausted groan)_ This is taking forever!" Complained Peri.

"You wanna leave?" Asked Lapis.

"Yes, I do! Perhaps the line will have shortened by the time we get back."

"Wait, don't!" Called Connie as the two Gems stepped out of line.

"You'll lose your place in line!" Steven warned.

" _Please_. I have far more important things to do than wait in line to meet an 'alleged' immortal human clod just to tell him for things that I know for a fact that no human can acquire." Peri's expression soon turned disappointed. "This is futile. No point in continuing."

" _(sigh)_ Yeah, Steven." Lapis agreed. "There's probably no point to it. We should just go. Thanks for… standing with us, Mr. and Mrs. Maheswaren, but… I think it would be best if we just… get on with our Christmas shopping."

With that, Peri and Lapis waved goodbye and walked away.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Asked Priyanka.

"Eh, what's the worst that could happen?" Asked Doug, shrugging. "Besides, Lapis looks capable. So long as she's watching Peri, I'm sure everything will be fine."

Priyanka didn't feel convinced.

"Hey, Lapis?" Peri asked the older Gem beside her. "If it's all the same to you, I think it would be best if I were to continue my Christmas shopping on my own."

"Oh! Um… okay, sure." Lapis agreed, thought unsure about the idea. "Um… bye?"

"Farwell, Lapis." And so, Peri walked away to a nearby escalator, leaving Lapis behind.

Peri had spent quite a while wondering around the mall. She had passed several stores and was unsure where to look for her giftee's Christmas present.

" _Hmmm_ … one of these stores **must** be sufficient…" She wondered aloud. "… but which one?"

As she continued to wonder, she soon came across something that she thought was pure luck. A pile of Christmas presents left inside of some kind of large box.

"Perfect!"

She ran straight for the box and stood before it.

"This **must** be pure luck. Presents left **completely** disregarded." She then began attempting to climb the into the box so that she could inspect them. "Surely **one** of these… _(grunt) (grunt)_ would make the _(grunt)_ perfect gift!"

With all of her loud grunting, she didn't even notice that she had gained the attention of a nearby security officer.

"Hey, kid! What do you think you're doing?!" He exclaimed to her.

Peri finally took notice of the large man behind her.

"I am merely Christmas shopping, so if you'll excuse me." As Peri continued digging around the boxes looking for a present, the officer proceeded to grab her by her triangular shaped hair and pull her out of the box. "Hey!"

"Well, you can't do that here." Said the officer.

"Why not?! These presents were left here **completely** disregarded."

"This **isn't** a free present **give-away** stand, it's a **donation** box."

"'Donation'? Who could **possibly** be worthy of **so** much?"

"Those kids at the children's hospital who were diagnosed with **cancer**! _That's_ who! You wanna ruin those innocent little angels' Christmas, cause' for **some** of them, it could be their **last**!"

Peri had heard of the condition known as 'cancer' before. It was an error in the human's cell division that was considered **life** threatening. As she heard this, she began to feel guilty.

"No… I don't." She said grimly. "I apologize."

With that, the officer placed Peri, gently onto the floor.

"Now, don't you let me catch you doin' anything like this again or it's **out** of the mall for you, capíche?"

"Yes, sir… I understand."

"Good. Now go do your Christmas shopping somewhere else." And with that, the security officer walked away.

As Peri eyed the large box, she couldn't help but feel guilty for what she had almost done. She had heard of **adults** getting cancer, but she was unaware that humans so **young** were capable of getting it. She started to walk away, but stopped when she heard something behind her. She turned around and saw a suspicious looking man dressed as a Christmas elf who appeared to be tying the donation box to a security guard's cart.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

The man looked at her and thought that she was just some child, so he decided to play the part.

"Oh, hello there, little girl." The "elf" greeted her. "I am here to pick-up these presents for Santa and bring them back to the North Pole."

Peri found this to be odd.

"Well, then, there must be some mistake. **This** is a donation box that's **supposed** to go to the children at the children's hospital, not to Santa Claus."

"Yeah, well… Santa thinks that it would be best if _he_ delivers them… you know, for safety."

"Well, then perhaps he should wait until after the mall closes. That way, everyone who wishes will be given the chance to donate, as well."

"Yeah, uh, no. He needs them now." The "elf" took a moment to look at his watch. " **Right** now. So run along, little girl. _Hurry up before the next guard drives by_."

He tried to whisper that last part so that Peri wouldn't hear it, but she still barely made out most of it.

"I don't think you're telling me the truth."

The "elf" appeared to be growing impatient.

"Listen, kid. Just mind your own business, and we won't have a problem, see? I'll even let you have an early Christmas present. What do you say?"

Peri now knew—in fact, she seemed to know the moment she saw him—that he was up to something bad.

"I advise that you release that box, at once, or I will be forced to make you."

The "elf" frowned at her.

"You know what? That's it."

The "elf" picked up the Peri by the back of her coat.

"Hey! Put me down!"

He then pinned her to a nearby Christmas tree. Despite how much Peri struggled, she couldn't break free.

"You can just 'hang out' here."

He then walked away to the cart while Peri continued to struggle.

"I demand you get me down from here this instant, you clod!"

"Merry Christmas, ya' green brat." He said, mounting his cart and starting to drive away with the gifts.

"Wait! Stop! Those aren't for you!"

Peri continued to struggle until the security guard came back.

"Hey, kid!" He exclaimed angrily, picking Peri out of the tree and placing her on the ground in front of him. "What happened to the donation box?!"

Peri looked past the guard and saw another cart that was already running. As quickly as she could manage, she lunged and slid across the waxed floor, between the guard's legs before he even realized what happened. He turned around immediately as Peri made a run for the cart. As soon as she got there, she hit the gas and drove off after the "elf"—oh who are we kidding?! She went after the **theif**.

* * *

 **The seventh Gem of Christmas, Lapis Lazuli, gave to me… Seven spouts of water, six dozen presents… over FI-IFTY Christ-mas WI-ish-es… four restaurants, three cups of cocoa, two different stores, and a trip to see Santa Claus.**

Lapis wandered around the mall looking uneasy. She knew that she had to find a gift for her giftee, but the problem was, she was too distracted by **who** her giftee _was_ to focus on finding a gift for them. Whenever she tried to focus, her mind would go back to her memories and she would grow apprehensive. She wanted to participate in Christmas, but how does one focus on making someone happy when whenever they do, their thoughts go to somewhere dark.

She wandered around the mall for a few minutes, passing store after store, trying to find something that would help calm her mind. She eventually came to an open area in the mall with a few benches around. It took her a moment before she realized this. She looked around and then down where she noticed that this area of the ground was different from the rest. Since she was encouraged to where shoes so that her feet wouldn't freeze in the snow, she didn't realize that she was standing on top of wet stone instead of white floor tiles.

"Huh?"

She looked around herself and noticed that the wet stone floor that she was standing on had holes in it. She got close to one and looked inside. She wanted to get a closer look to quell her curiosity, but just as she was almost directly above it…

 _ **SPURT**_

… water shot out of it. She was so startled, she jumped back but was then startled again when she heard more water shoot out from behind her. She spun around a few times to get out of the way as the holes that she was standing on top of shot water out, as well. As she looked at the three shooting water spouts behind her, she heard the sound of more water shooting up. She turned around and saw three more spouts of water shooting up out of the ground behind her. She tried to keep her distance from them, but then a thought came to mind. She looked down and saw a hole that was larger than the rest.

Not wanting to get soaked, she spun around while using her hydrokinesis to move the water so that instead of the water hitting her, it would just swirl around her body. She sighed in relief before she noticed the odd looks that she was getting from the people watching her. When she saw that the water had stopped coming out of the holes, Lapis dropped the water that she had and decided to leave, but then, she heard the sound of clapping hands. She looked and saw a little girl clapping and giggling.

"Again! Again!" She cheered.

"Uh-heh…" Lapis laughed nervously.

The seven water spouts shot up again in the same order as before. Though she wasn't sure why, she humored the little girl and spun again in more of a dancing fashion, and this time, **all** of the water from the spouts swirled around her.

"Ooh…" Said the little girl making Lapis smile. "Mommy! Mommy!"

The girl ran off just before Lapis dropped the water. She was about to continue on her way when the little girl came back with her mother.

"C'mon, Mommy!" She said, dragging her mother along.

"Alright! Alright!" Her mother said while laughing.

"There she is!" The little girl pointed at Lapis. "The Pretty Water Lady!"

Lapis smiled at the nice name that the girl given her. The water shot up again and Lapis made the streams of water orbit her body in rings with the ring closest to her being the thickest.

"Well!" The bewildered mother said before clapping her hands.

Lapis noticed that more people were gathering around to see her. Lapis didn't feel so bad anymore.

"Again!" The little girl cheered in applause.

The water shot up again and Lapis made the spout that she was standing on top of split into two so that it went to her sides. She then made the water shoot straight up instead of letting it come down when the momentum from the pressure reached its limit. There was enough water to reach above her head. Everyone watched her in awe. It was then, as she let the water drop, that she got an idea. She took a step forward and spun around as the water shot up, making it spin around her and change shape into a staircase. She ascended the water stairs and continued to dance, making the water dance around her. When she reached the top, she leapt off while spinning, and was caught by some water at her feet that kept her spinning. She stood on one foot as she spun, moving her body in a ballerina fashion as she descended, making more water dance around her.

As she continued to dance, she used her power over water to make the water dance with her and even change shape. During her performance, she made the water resemble doves and had them fly around her and even tickle some noses from the audience, including the little girl. She even had the water spread out and flow above the audience. They touched, poked and even stuck their fingers **in** the water streams to see if they were real, and were surprised to discover that they **were**. As she continued to dance, more and more people showed up to watch the beautiful, hydrokinetic spectacle that was Lapis Lazuli. What she was doing was fun, but she wanted to bring it to a close in big way. So, to finish off her performance, she leapt up into the air and pulled as much water out of the pipes as possible to have them spread out around her to take shape. She released her water wings from her Gem and floated inside of a giant water heart with smaller hearts around it. In the background, there was a large Christmas tree made of water.

She remained there for a short while, posing for her audience. But then, she suddenly realized that everything had gone silent. She opened her eyes and saw everyone staring at her. It wasn't long until she realized what she had just done. She took her use of power too far. She slowly descended and carefully let the water back onto the stone so that it could go down the drain. She gently touched down behind the fountain, nervous as she looked out at the crowd. At first she wanted to run and hide, but then the girl in the front started to clap, followed by her mother, then someone else in the else. Then two more joined in, and then more… and more… until the entire audience was in uproar with applause and praise. Lapis looked on in surprise, and then she smiled.

"Mommy!" Said the little girl. "She's a Christmas Angel!"

Lapis blushed deeply at everything that was happening. All of a sudden, she had forgotten why she was so unnerved.

* * *

 **The eighth Gem of Christmas, "Navy" Ruby, gave to me… Eight more different stores, seven spouts of water, six dozen presents… over FI-IFTY Christ-mas WI-ish-es… four restaurants, three cups of cocoa, two different stores, and a trip to see Santa Claus.**

As Navy walked around the stores, she knew that she should have been keeping an eye out for a gift for her giftee, but her attention was caught by something else.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "Look at all of the pretty shops!"

It was just wall to wall stores. There was a clothing store, a makeup store, a hair salon, a nail salon, a store that just sold knickknacks, and three kiosks that sold accessories and such. Despite her responsibility as a secret Santa, she couldn't resist. She had two hundred dollars in her pocket and stores upon stores to spend it all. She ran into one store and came out with a new hand bag. She ran inside of another and came out with a new red winter dress and a few more dresses. She ran into the salon and came out with new glued on nails and longer eyelashes. She even ran into a jewelry store to get her Gem polished.

She wasn't so much interested in how **she** looked. She was **much** more interested in how **they** looked. She just ran into the stores and bought anything that she found pretty and interesting. She was a curiosity of a Gem. She seemed almost entertained by almost anything, and with everything on a Christmas sale, she just couldn't resist. So, she carried on like this for a while.

* * *

 **The ninth Gem of Christmas, "Army" Ruby, gave to me… Nine long hours, eight different stores, seven spouts of water, six dozen presents… over FI-IFTY Christ-mas WI-ish-es… four restaurants, three cups of cocoa, two different store, and a trip to see Santa Claus.**

Army was a simple Gem who loved to grow strong and fight. Unfortunately, she couldn't fight right now, thanks to Pearl's rules. So, once she had found her gift for her giftee, she just wanted to pay for it and leave, but when she arrived at the line to pay for her present, she found that the line was too long.

"Hey!" She shouted, jumping up so that she could speak to the whole line. "Let me through! I need to pay for this!"

No one seemed to be listening. She had half a mind to fight her way to the front, but then, she remembered Pearl's rule: No Starting Fights. So she just stood there… and waited… and waited… and waited… and waited, her agitation growing by the minute, and it had been over five hours. By now, she was redder than she had ever been.

* * *

 **The tenth Gem of Christmas, "Leggy" Ruby, gave to me… uhh… nine long hours, eight different stores, seven spouts of water, six dozen presents… over FI-IFTY Christ-mas WI-ish-es… four restaurants, three cups of cocoa, two different stores, and a trip to see Santa Claus.**

Leggy looked at all of the stores. She looked at one store, and then another, and then another. She couldn't figure out which store to go into, so she closed her eyes, put one hand over her already shut eyes, pointed forward with another, and turned around a few times. Once she had turned around about… I want to say ten times, but that doesn't sound right... Anyway, when she was done, she kept her eyes shut and started walking forward, not even realizing that she wasn't even walking into any stores.

* * *

 **The eleventh Gem of Christmas, "Eyeball" Ruby, gave to me… eleven minutes waiting… uhh… nine long hours, eight different stores, seven spouts of water, six dozen presents… over FI-IFTY Christ-mas WI-ish-es… four restaurants, three cups of cocoa, two different stores, and a trip to see Santa Claus.**

It took some time, but Eyeball had just got her gift for her giftee and payed for it. Since she had some money left over, she spent on some recommended Christmas decorations. So she went to the front of the mall to wait for the rest of her companions. So she waited. 'Nuff said.

* * *

 **The twelfth Gem of Christmas, "Doc" Ruby, gave to me… twelve songs to dance to, eleven minutes waiting… uhh… nine long hours, eight different stores, seven spouts of water, six dozen presents… over FI-IFTY Christ-mas WI-ish-es… four restaurants, three cups of cocoa, two different stores, and a TRIP to see San-ta CLAAAAAAAAAUS!**

After Doc had explored the different stores and finally found a gift for her giftee, she eventually came across an arcade. Inside, she found different games, but one game seemed to be drawing the most attention. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that it was a dance game, but it wasn't the game itself that was bringing in the crowd. It was the boy dancing. His dance moves were very impressive and his score on the game was highest on the system's leaderboard. Doc was intrigued.

When the boy finished dancing and he and his friends left, Doc decided to try out the game herself. Unfortunately, the system only took quarters, which she didn't realize when she first tried to feed the machine's coin-slot a fifty-dollar bill.

"Hey, little girl," Said a female employee wearing a red and green striped shirt, a matching visor and two quarter dispensers on her waist who was standing behind her, "need some help?"

"Um… my money won't go in." Doc said.

"Oh, well, let's see what I can do about that, sweetie."

The female started dispensing more quarters from her waist and gave the proper amount equaling fifty dollars, which was almost all of her quarters.

"This should be enough." She said, handing her the quarters and taking her fifty-dollar bill.

She then placed a single quarter inside of the machine and it started working. Doc started fiddling with the song selections, going through a bunch of Christmas songs until the first song came on. After this, the female employee walked away to help other gamers with whatever they needed. The instructions that were on a sticker on the machine said that she had to dance by placing her feet on the tiles that matched the images on the screen when they reached the circles at the top of the screen. She stood in the middle of the dancefloor controller platform, watching the images move to the top of the screen. As soon as the first image reached one of the circles at the top, Doc moved her foot to the corresponding image on one of the tiles around her. She repeated this over and over and over again until the song was over.

By the time the song had ended, she was tired. She looked at her score on the game's scoreboard and saw that her score was ranked lower any other player who had ever played this game. She was not happy with this, so she picked up another quarter and started another song despite how tired she was. By the time she reached the twelfth song, she had attracted a small crowd of gamers because she had been dancing nonstop and they wanted to play, but she wouldn't give up the game. Some songs were longer than four minutes, so she had been dancing for longer than half an hour straight. With each song, she climbed higher on the leaderboard, and she wasn't about to stop until she reached the top. Whenever she would trip and fall, she would do her best to land on the proper tile. Soon, the song ended… and she managed to reach a little bit higher than she used to be, but she wasn't high enough. She panted, grabbing another quarter, ready to try again. Everyone around her groaned, wishing she would just give up.

"Stop your vehicle this instant!" Suddenly, Doc heard the sound of Peridot's voice and grabbed her decorations and her gift for her giftee before running out of the arcade to see if it was her.

Everyone cheered to see that she was finally done. Doc looked down and saw Peri driving after what looked like some guy in a goofy costume. Both of them were driving a cart.

"Go home before you hurt yourself, you crazy brat!" The thief shouted to her.

Doc chased after them. Army was ready to blow when she heard something outside. She looked out the door and saw Doc run past. Not even bothering to ask questions, she ran out of line with her present.

"Hey, kid!" Shouted a security guard. "You need to pay for that!"

Army responded to this by screaming as she threw all of her money at the guard and ran out the door, the security alarm sounding as she ran. Navy had just come out of a store having spent her last dollar on some random stuff that she found interesting. She walked on until she heard the sound of something coming her way. She turned her head and saw a cart heading her way.

"Oh, dear!"

In a desperate attempt to save herself, she threw her stuff and jumped for it. As the cart drove by, all of her stuff had ended up landing on top of the roof of the cart that had almost hit her.

"Oh, my!" She said as she watched her stuff drive away.

Suddenly, Peridot drove by in another cart, followed by Doc and Army. She took off after her friends. Lapis was giving another performance, sending the crowd into a frenzy of praise.

"Leave me alone, ya' little freak!" She heard someone shout from behind her.

"Huh?" She said, releasing the water so that it fell into the stone and then down the drain.

She turned around and saw Peridot chasing some guy in an elf costume. Both of them were driving carts. Not wasting any time, she took off on her wings after them only to be grabbed by one of the Rubies tailing behind her. Army climbed onto her back, followed by Navy and Doc.

"Hey!" Exclaimed Lapis.

"No time, Lazuli!" Said Doc. "After those two!"

"But what's going on?!"

"I… don't know!"

"Me either!" Shouted Army.

"Same here!" Called Navy. "I just want my stuff back!"

Saphire and Ruby were just now paying for their respective gifts and waiting for them to be gift wrapped when they heard the sounds of shouting. They recognized one of the voices.

"No wrapping, please!" They both shouted to the cashiers before taking their gifts in bags and running outside their stores.

They both met at the walkway connecting both sides of the mall, and down below at the base level were two carts, one driven by a human, the other by a little green Gem. Behind them were four other Gems. They wasted no time and quickly fused into Garnet. With a gift in each hand, she leapt down below and landed on top of Peri's cart.

"Wha-?!" Exclaimed Peri in surprised response to the sudden bump.

"Peridot!" Exclaimed Garnet, poking her head in front of Peri.

"Garnet! I can't see!"

Garnet lifted her head up so that she wouldn't be in the way.

"What is going on?!" Garnet asked.

"That guy stole those presents!"

Garnet looked forward and saw the box filled with presents on wheels that was being pulled away by the thief's cart. Garnet gritted her teeth, placed her gifts next to Peri's seat, brought out her visor followed by her gauntlets and pointed them at the thief. Her gauntlets then fired from her hands like rockets at the thief.

 _ **KABOOM**_

"What?!" The thief shouted when something beside him exploded.

He turned around and saw a large, square haired woman standing on top of the girl's cart wearing big gauntlets.

"Aw, geez!" He said, trying to go faster than he already was.

Amethyst and Jasper were on their way back from the food court.

" _(burp)_ "

"Good one," said Amethyst, "but watch _this_. _(Burp)_ "

"Not bad. Now stand back." Said Jasper, taking in a big inhale.

 _ **KABOOM**_

"Wow! Awesome, sis!"

"But… that wasn't…"

Suddenly, two carts, one driven by a human, and the other driven by a Gem, followed by more Gems passed by them. The two quartzes stared for a moment before Amethyst shouted.

"Woah! Let's get in on this!"

Amethyst ran off, whip in hand, and Jasper took off after her.

"In my spare time, I hang with my band." Said Sabina.

" _I_ actually, used to be a successful musician!" Claimed Gregg.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah! Really!"

While Gregg and Sabina continued to argue, Pearl looked out the window, hoping to see something that would take her mind off of the uncomfortable feeling of being here now. Two carts past, one driven by a human in an elf costume that was pulling what looked like a box on wheels filled to the brim with presents. On top of the cart was a bunch of other stuff that she couldn't identify. The second cart was being driven by Peridot with Garnet on top of the cart, gauntlets at the ready.

* * *

Hey, she wanted something to get her mind off of her troubles.

* * *

"Um, Gregg?" She called to her **male** human friend.

Gregg and Sabina looked down and saw her pointing to something. They looked to where she was pointing and saw Lapis flying by with three Rubies riding on her back followed by the two Quartzes trailing behind, one with her whip out. Now, everyone's eyes were wide as they watched this.

"Well, Sabina, it was great to catch up!" Pearl said quickly, shaking her hand before pushing Gregg out of the booth with her. "C'mon, Gregg! Let's go get the kids!"

Pearl tugged Gregg along behind her and exited the café… that is, until she had to go back for one last thing.

"It really was great to see you again." She said to Sabina as she grabbed her to-go bag with the hot chocolates that had to be cold by now.

"See you around." Sabina said with a wink that made Pearl blush.

"C'mon, Pearl." Said Gregg, pulling her back to the door.

Sabina shot Gregg a dirty look as they left.

"'Let's bring them along' you said!" Pearl repeated what Gregg said. "'What's the worst that could happen' you said!"

"Alright, I'm starting to see the error in my judgement!" Gregg said to her.

Finally, the last child went in to see Santa Claus. The child before this one had a list that was so long, Steven and Connie had eventually fallen asleep in line. When the child that was in front of them went in, Connie's parents had to wake up Steven and Connie so that they could see Santa.

"Steven, Connie." Said Doug as he and Priyanka shook the kids awake. "You're up next."

" _(Snore)_ W-what?" Said Connie.

" _(yawn)_ We're next?" Asked Steven as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Well, you are after this next child." Said Priyanka.

"Oh, that's good." Said Connie as she and Steven started stretching. "Thanks Mom and Dad."

The employee dressed as a Christmas elf pulled back the red velvet rope to allow the kids through.

"Are they both going in?" Asked the elf employee.

Priyanka and Doug looked back and couldn't see any sign of Gregg and Pearl.

"I guess so?" Said Doug, shrugging.

"Come on, Steven." Said Connie, excitedly.

The two children ran up to the large chair only to halt in their tracks when they saw who was sitting in the big chair.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Laughed "Bismuth Claus" with much more vigor than before. "Merry Christmas!"

Bismuth stopped momentarily when she saw who was next.

"Bismuth?!" Said both children upon seeing the large Gem dressed as Santa Claus.

"Well, if it ain't my two favorite little meatballs!" She said, scooping up the children.

Connie and Steven laughed as they looked at Bismuth.

"'Bismuth'?" Questioned Priyanka and Doug.

It was at this moment that Bismuth noticed the two adult humans standing before the three of them.

"Connie, are these two **big** meatballs your parents?"

"Dr. Priyanka and Doug Maheswaren." Said Connie's mother. "Nice to officially meet you, Ms. Bismuth."

Priyanka reached her hand out and Bismuth happily shook it.

"Just Bismuth is fine." Priyanka discovered that Bismuth was probably stronger than Garnet, because her hand was really sore from that handshake. "Boy, it's great to officially meet you two."

"So Bismuth, why are you dressed like Santa?" Asked Connie.

"Well, it was supposed to be this other guy, but he quit at the last minute. Next thing I know, I'm sitting here with my new 'boss' begging me to take the job. So now, here I am." Bismuth said with a shrug. "But enough about that, what do you kids want for Christmas?"

"Well," Said Steven, making Connie giggle, but before he could continue…

 _ **KABOOM**_

…the sound of an explosion came to their ears.

They turned and saw a cart heading straight for them. Acting fast, Bismuth grabbed the children and parents and threw them up into the air. Bismuth was ready to take the cart head on, but before that happened, the cart changed course at the last possible moment; unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it, for another cart came her way driven by Peridot with Garnet riding the hood. Bismuth jumped up as the cart passed underneath her. While she was in the air, she saw that Connie and her parents were holding on to each other in a human chain-like fashion while Connie held on to Steven's hand. Bismuth landed and saw the cart that had just passed underneath her being chased by the Gems.

"What on earth?!" Questioned Bismuth.

"Bismuth!" Called Steven as he gently lowered himself and the others to the ground.

"So much for Christmas shopping. C'mon, Steven. Our friends are gonna need some help. You comin' Connie?"

"Oh, can I, Mom and Dad?! Can I?" Connie eagerly asked her parents.

"W-ell…" Her parents said, unsure.

"Relax. She'll be with us." Said Bismuth.

"We'll fuse for safety!" Suggested Steven.

"I suppose… if—"

Priyanka was interrupted by the sight of Connie and Steven dancing and then fusing into Stevonnie.

"Great! Thanks Dr. Mom." Said Stevonnie, combining how Steven and Connie address Priyanka as they ran off with Bismuth.

"Alright! Let's go show 'em we mean **Bismuth**!" Bismuth shouted as she and Stevonnie ran off towards the carts.

Priyanka and Doug just kept staring at them as they stood there in the middle of the destroyed Santa's village display.

" _(groan)_ If this keeps up, I think _I'm_ going to need a doctor." Said Dr. Maheswaren, holding her head.

The carts raced down the mall.

"Leave me alone, you freaks!" The thief shouted.

" _You_ give back what you've **stolen**!" Peri shouted.

"Never! When I sell these presents, they're gonna make me rich!"

"But they aren't yours!"

"Who cares about some snot-nosed brats in some hospital?!"

Peri was going to shout a retort when she caught sight of something.

"Hey! There's something in front of you!" She shouted before driving in another direction to safely slow down.

The thief's turned around and saw what looked like a red child with a red Gem in her leg in front of him. She had her hand over her eyes and pointing at nothing as she walked forward. He immediately slammed his foot down on the breaks and turned the wheel. He then started screeching as he started to slow down, but at the speed he was still going, he wasn't going to stop before hitting Leggy.

"Wait, what I was doing, again?" Asked Leggy as the cart got closer.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" The thief screamed as he got closer to her.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lapis swooped in and with the other Rubies dangling from her like a chain, they grabbed Leggy by the arm that she was pointing with and saved her.

"Huh?! What's goin' on? Oh, hey guys." Leggy greeted her friends as they carried her away.

The thief's cart continued to screech and spin uncontrollably. So much that all of Navy's stuff was thrown off of the top.

"Oh." She said sadly.

"W-W-W-W-WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The thief continued to scream.

"Bismuth, give me a boost!" Said Stevonnie.

Bismuth then picked up Stevonnie and tossed them.

"Jasper, Amethyst!" Called Bismuth to the two Gems behind her. "I could use a boost, too!"

Jasper picked up Amethyst and threw her up so that she could use her whip and wrap it around Bismuth so that she could lift her up. She could only lift her a few above ten feet off of the ground, but that was only so that she could lift her over Jasper, who had her helmet ready and waiting. Bismuth dropped onto Jasper's helmet and Jasper bent her back before throwing her upper body forward, catapulting Bismuth forward. Bismuth landed in front of the out of control cart.

"Ho! Ho! NO you don't!" She exclaimed, shapeshifting her hand into a stone slab and using it to stop the cart in its tracks.

The cart stopped, but its driver did not. The thief flew out of the driver seat, past Bismuth, and right into Stevonnie, who caught him in their arms.

"Hey." They simply greeted the thief with a smile.

"Uh-hi." The thief responded, blushing before Stevonnie dropped him. "Oof!"

"Ha! We caught you!" Said Peri, who had just come from her cart.

The thief tried to escape, but Bismuth blocked one way, Stevonnie used their shield to block another, and the rest of the Gems blocked everyway so that the thief couldn't escape.

"Okay, but **why** did we catch him?" Bismuth asked.

"Because he stole those Christmas presents." Said Garnet.

"He **what**?!" Asked Stevonnie, incredulously.

They walked over to the big box of gifts that was attached to the thief's cart and unfused, followed by Peri. While Peri inspected the inside, Steven and Connie inspected the box itself.

"Okay, the presents seem to be alright." Said Peri.

"This is supposed to go to the kids at the children's hospital!" Connie shouted.

"What kind of sick, twisted, monster steals from sick kids?" Asked Bismuth.

"A guy who's gotta make a living!" The thief shouted in his "defense".

"Then get a job, ya' bum! Don't steal from kids!" Bismuth shouted.

"HEY!" Everyone looked and saw a bunch of security staff heading their way along with Pearl and the parents.

"Oh, good." Said Peri. "Here you are, sir. We have recovered the stolen presents for the hospital children."

"Yes, so you have." Said a security guard as he inspected the box of gifts. "As well as stolen mall official property _and_ destroyed the mall!"

The guard gestured to the rest of the mall behind them. It was mostly in one piece, but there were holes and fires from Garnet's gauntlets.

"Whoops!" Said Garnet.

The Maheswarens face palmed while Greg groaned. Despite everything that was happening, Navy took the opportunity to quickly grab all of the things that she had bought.

"Hey, there." Said Eyeball, walking up to them. "What took y'all so long?"

* * *

Apparently, they were all close enough to the exit that she could see them. In the end, everyone was banned from the Crystal Clear Mall and Greg had to pay for the damages. Now everyone was outside their cars. Lion was with them.

"Sorry if we ruined your day." Steven said to the Maheswarens.

"Are you kidding?!" Said Connie. "Steven, every day with you is an adventure! You make everything exciting… even if it took longer this time."

"And it's just a mall." Said Priyanka.

"Yeah, we'll just go to a new one next year." Said Doug.

With that, everyone piled into their cars or onto their Lion.

"I can't wait for the next adventure!" Connie said as she waved to Steven and climbed in.

"The next one." Doug groaned as he opened his door. "This kid's gonna be the death of me."

"Welcome to _my_ world." Said Greg as he opened _his_ car's door but then remembered something. "Oh, yeah!"

Greg held out the to-go bag from the café.

"Here're your hot cocoas. Although, they may not be that hot anymore."

"Eh," Doug shrugged as he took the bag, "it happens."

With that, everyone got into their modes of transportation and were then on their way back to Beach City, be it by car or by Lion. All in all, they **did** buy _some_ things. But not everyone had the chance to buy what they wanted to buy for their giftees. Oh well, they still have time… or **do** they?


	3. Steven's Night Before Christmas

Steven's Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all throughout Beach City; the lights, the snow, everything looked so pretty. From the smallest house to the Big Donut; doors were locked and windows were shut. Everyone in town was asleep in their beds; thoughts of presents, candy and merriment in their dream filled heads. In the home of Steven Universe, while Steven, Amethyst and Lion slumbered; Garnet and Pearl emerged from the temple for they were busy with gifts to lumber. To keep the magic of Christmas alive for the young boy; to keep him happy and his heart full of joy, they worked hard to carry his Christmas presents through the door to place under his tree. Come Christmas morning, there would be plenty to see.

Connie Maheswaren, and her whole family, too, were to all stay asleep until the night was through. Up on a hill, not too far away, there stood the barn where the other Gems stayed. From the top of the silo to the barn's base, Christmas lights and other decorations were displayed in place. The inside of the barn was no different, at all, for lights were strung up from wall to wall. Though the Gems didn't really **need** to sleep, every last barn Gem and pumpkin was at rest without a peep. Though most were skeptical about the man in the flying sleigh, Steven convinced them all to rest in preparation, for Santa was on his way.

The fields were covered in a thick blanket of snow, small crystals and flakes were carried on the wind's flow. Meanwhile, for those who still could, up in the sky, one could hear, the sounds of bells on a sleigh being pulled by eight tiny reindeer.

Alright, that's enough rhyming.

"Tinsel, pull up the map, please." Santa asked one of his helper elves in the sleigh.

The small, pointy eared, pale skinned helper in the tinsel decorated outfit typed on a keyboard and suddenly, a holographic image of a map of Beach City was pulled up. One particular area on the map that was located outside of the city proper was marked with a blinking red dot.

"We're approaching our next stop now, sir." Tinsel responded.

"Thank you, Tinsel. Hyah!" With whip of the reins, the reindeer raced through the skies to the first stop, glittering sparkles trailing from their hooves.

All of sudden, the map started to flicker and there were red lights flashing.

"Sir, we're experiencing some interference!" Tinsel said with worried surprise.

"Is it storm damage?!"

"No, sir! I'm picking up some sort of jamming frequency! It's interfering with our instruments!"

From the team of reindeer, Vixen bellowed into the night sky.

"Sir, dust output is decreasing drastically! We're losing speed and altitude. The closer we get to the barn, the worse are our chances of getting through the night without being seen!" Said another elf with bells on her outfit.

"I understand, Belle!" Santa said before pulling the reins to turn. "We'll have to come back after we're done with the rest of the town and make the delivery on foot!"

Vixen let out another bellowing sound into the night.

"Calm down, Vixen!" Santa called out to the reindeer. "Someone will hear you!"

In the barn, the bellowing reindeer call did not go unnoticed. Pumpkin stirred awake in response to the call. Fearing that it was an intruder, she did what any good guard dog would do; she leapt out of Lapis' arms and ran for the front door so that she could try and scare it away. Lapis awoke upon feeling that Pumpkin was no longer in her arms, followed by Pumpkin's excessive barking. In fact, Pumpkin's barking succeeded in waking every Gem in the barn.

"(groan) Would somebody, shut that mutt up before I do something I'll regret." Jasper complained.

"Pumpkin!" Lapis called, using her wings to catch up and grab Pumpkin before she got outside. "You have to stay near the heat lamps! It's too cold for you outside!"

Pumpkin didn't listen to her. She just kept on barking.

"Doh! What is she goin' on about?!" Asked Bismuth.

"Wait!" Called Peri, hurrying to Lapis and Pumpkin's side. "I think she's barking at an intruder!"

"What?!" Everyone in the barn exclaimed.

"Where are they, girl?" Peri asked the produce pet.

Pumpkin barked while facing upward and trying to jump to intruders. Soon, everyone except for Leggy and Navy, who were asked to stay behind and look after Pumpkin, was hurrying out of the barn to see the intruder. They looked up and saw something flying in the air above them.

"What is that?" Asked Bismuth.

"Why is it here?" Asked Lapis.

"And where are my attack drones!" Complained Peri, tapping her remote control furiously.

"I'll handle it." Said Jasper.

The buff orange Gem then proceeded to pick up a large piece of metal and chuck it at the unidentified flying object. The projectile made contact and knocked the object out of the air.

"C'mon, let's go see what that was." Jasper suggested.

Everyone then followed her away from the barn.

"Oh, my!" Exclaimed Navy as she saw what happened from the barn.

"Huh? W-what's going on?" Asked a confused Leggy while Pumpkin just kept barking.

Once the Gems were close enough, they could make out something red in the distance.

"Over there!" Called out Lapis who was also running because her water wings didn't work so well in the frigid air.

"I see 'em!" Exclaimed Bismuth, shape shifting her hands into stone slabs.

"Protect Santa!" Called one of the elves when they saw the Gems running toward them.

The little, pointy eared helpers then proceeded to hop up on top of the sleigh, which was currently on its side, not a reindeer in sight, and then jumped off so that they could break into a sprint as soon as their curly toed shoes hit the snow. Taking this as a means of attack, Jasper summoned her helmet while the three Rubies fused, Peri summoned her sling and Lapis controlled the snow and made it change into a giant fist. Both sides shouted as they got closer to each other.

"WAIT!" Called a man's voice from the distance.

Instantly, both sides froze in place and looked over to the sleigh. There they saw a black mitten covered hand and a red sleeve sticking up from behind the sleigh, waving at them.

"Sir!" Exclaimed Tinsel, hurrying alongside the other elves to help their boss.

"Hey!" The Gems' attention was then caught by the sound someone else.

The Gems turned around and saw Amethyst, Pearl and Garnet running to them alongside Steven and Greg who were riding Lion (well, trying to, at least in Greg's case).

"We came as soon as Navy called." Said Garnet as they pulled up beside them.

"Huh?" Questioned Peri. "Oh, them. Well, that was unnecessary, for as you can see, we already have everything well at hand."

Peri gestured to the downed projectile and those near so that they could see what she meant.

"This strange vehicle was detected flying overhead and we… uh… took the liberty… uh… Steven?"

Steven wasn't listening, he was too concerned with making a slow approach to the red sleigh that was currently resting on its side. Everyone eyed him curiously at first, but then looked worried when they saw that he was getting closer to the sleigh.

"Steven! Be careful!" Warned Jasper.

"Uh, Pearl, doesn't that look like a…?" Amethyst trailed off, too confused to finish the sentence.

"I don't believe it." Pearl said in response.

"Huh, that would explain a few things, though it does raise a few questions." Commented Garnet.

"More like a lot of questions." Said Greg.

Steven was soon close enough to the sleigh. All that he had to do was look around the front and he would get his answer. He looked around the front of the sleigh and dropped his jaw right into the snow in response to what he saw. It was a man, a man with a big white beard, in a red suit being lifted up by short, pointy eared people wearing pointy hats and curly toed shoes. Once the man was finally able to hold himself up thanks to the turned over sleigh, though it took him a minute to catch his breath, he finally noticed the little, fourteen-year-old boy in a pink coat and smiled. The elves, on the other hand, looked curious and a bit worried while they whispered back and forth amongst themselves.

"Hello, Steven." The man said to him.

He knew his name. Steven as so sure that he knew who this man was, but it was almost impossible to believe.

"Santa?"

Connie raced down the snowy hill and saw Lion's large, pink form stand out amongst the snow.

"Guys!" She shouted, sword in hand.

As soon as she got there, she stood before the Gems, battle-ready and full of confidence.

"What's the emergency?! Steven called and—!" She stopped, straightened up, stared and dropped her sword.

Steven was currently sitting next to Santa Claus in his sleigh when he caught sight of Connie.

"Connie!" She exclaimed in excitement.

"Uh…" Was all that she could say.

"Well, if it isn't Connie Maheswaren." Said Santa. "I'd keep a firm hold on that sword, if I were you. Bismuth put a lot of hard work into making it."

"Uh…" Was all that she could say.

"Hey, how'd you know about that?!" Shouted Bismuth, accusingly.

"Oh, I may not be as old as you, ma'am. But I still have my means of knowing."

"Connie," Steven started, jumping off of the sleigh and running up to his best friend, "it's him! It's really him! This is Santa Claus! **The** Santa Claus! Jasper shot him down out of the sky!"

"I said I was sorry for that!" Complained Jasper.

"I even saw his elves! Elves! They're bringing back his reindeer!"

"Uh…" Connie only glanced at Steven once or twice, mostly focusing on the jolly, old man in red sitting in the big red sleigh.

" _Oh, boy. If only I had a cookie for every time a child got like this whenever they saw me._ " Santa thought to himself humorously when he saw Connie's expression.

"Santa!" Called a high voice from close by.

Connie turned and was generally stunned by the sight of the pale skinned, little people with pointed ears and wearing elf garb leading eight reindeer back to the sleigh.

"We got 'em!" Said Tinsel, her tinsel shining in the moonlight.

"Uh…" Said Connie.

"All eight of 'em." Confirmed Belle, her bells jingling with each step.

"How are they, Wrangle?" Santa asked another one of the elves.

"Uh…" Said Connie.

"A little shaken up, Sir." An elf wearing an outfit adorned with red and white lassos, ropes, a riding crop and a fanny pack full of unknown items (although she previously appeared to have been pulling some kind of animal feed out from of the pockets) answered as she looked over Vixen. "Vixen especially, poor girl. That jamming beacon managed to spook 'er up a bit, but that attack by Jasper was what really drove her. But I think with a bit of time, she'll be ready to fly with the rest of them."

"We don't have time." Said Tinsel, touching her red watch and producing green, holo-touchscreen and running some calculations on it. "This has set us way back! Our magic is only capable of so much, sir. We need to go."

"Not without Vixen." Said Santa with his arms crossed. "Don't worry, Tinsel. We'll make up the time. Christmas is a time for miracles, isn't it?"

"(sigh)" Tinsel sighed in defeat as she dropped her hands and made her screen disappear into her watch. "I'll hook everyone else up to the sleigh. Wrangle, try to calm down Vixen."

"Aye, aye!" Wrangle saluted before tending to Vixen's emotional state.

"Okay, I think it's been long enough for a girl as smart as her." Thought Santa."And 3… 2… 1…"

"UhhhhhAAAAHHHHHHH!" She shrieked in excitement, her stunned expression turning into an exited smile with diamonds in her eyes.

She jumped up and down before sheathing her sword and running and jumping up into Santa's sleigh to give him a hug.

"Omigosh!" She exclaimed. "It's-you! -It's-you! -It's-really-you! I can't believe I'm actually meeting the real Santa Claus!"

"Wow! It's the reindeer!" Exclaimed Steven.

"Waaaahhhh!" Connie leaned over the front so that she could see.

Soon enough, the children were running this way and that so that they could see everything.

"This is cool, right?!" Asked Steven.

"So cool!" Answered Connie. "But… they're a lot… whiter than I thought they'd be."

Everyone then looked at the reindeer and saw that this was true. Though they all looked young and healthy, all of them had white fur. Every last inch of them was covered with white hair. Even their antlers and hooves were white.

"Huh, I guess they are." Said Steven before raising his hand to ask Santa a question. "Um, Santa? Why are the reindeer all white? And where's Rudolph?"

Blitzen, having heard this, rolled his eyes and snorted in response.

"Hey! Watch it, Blitzen." Said Tinsel as she secured him in.

Blitzen, wearing a bored expression similar to Lion's, snorted in her face.

"Gah!" She said in response, fanning his breath away with her hand. "Note to self: Tell Wrangle to brush your teeth once we're back at the Pole."

"HO-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho…" Santa laughed as he held a hot cup of cocoa that one of his elves had prepared for him. "I'm afraid Rudolph isn't really a part of my team. He's only a made up reindeer from a catchy Christmas song."

Santa was silent for a moment.

"As for why the reindeer are the way they are, I'm afraid that story's a little… too depressing for Christmas."

This only made Steven and Connie more curious, but then, Connie pointed something out.

"Steven, look!" She whispered to him, pointing to Blitzen while Belle was helping Wrangle secure in Vixen and Tinsel was checking the bell clad restraints a second time.

Blitzen was looking at them with a condescending look, similar to the way Lion sometimes looked.

"I'm afraid that… I can only say... they're actually much older than they should be."

Steven and Connie exchanged a look of confusion.

"I think Vixen's all ready to go, Santa, sir!" Wrangle called.

Though Vixen fidgeted a little, she did look well enough to move the sleigh with the rest.

"Yes, everything seems to be in order." Said Tinsel as she saw that the rest of the elves whose names were unheard looked finished with loading Santa's sack onto the sleigh. "If we leave immediately, we should just make our deliveries to… the rest of Empire City."

"'Leave'?!" Questioned a disappointed Steven.

"'Immediately'?!" Questioned a disappointed Connie.

"I'm afraid so, childr—" Santa stopped when he realized what Tinsel had just said. "Wait, 'rest' of Empire City?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Tinsel then pulled out her holo-screen, "but I'm afraid this has really set us back. Plus, the damage caused by Jasper seemed to have hit the distributer line and our dust levels are very low. We also lost most of the spare tanks in the crash and we only have enough for a limited number of stops. If we're going to be able to make up the time we've lost, we're going to need to take drastic measures."

"But what about the rest of the children? And we can't forget about Beach City."

"Sir, there is no time, and every moment wasted is another house or apartment that must be missed in order for us to make it to the rest of the boys and girls around the world."

"But you can't skip Beach City and… however much of Empire City you have to miss!" Said Connie, gaining Santa and Tinsel's attention.

"I'm sorry, Connie, Steven, but with the way things are, I'm afraid there's no other way."

Connie grew sadder, not at the thought of not getting a present herself, but at the thought of all of the other kids who weren't going to get gifts from Santa this year.

"What if _we_ help?" Asked Steven.

"What?!" Questioned Connie.

"What?!" Questioned Tinsel.

"What?!" Questioned the barn Gems.

"What?!" Questioned the temple Gems.

"What?!" Questioned Greg.

"What?" Asked Santa.

"Yeah!" Said Steven. "If we all work together, we can do it!"

"Whoa, there, Schtuball." Said Greg with a nervous laugh as he pulled Steven and Connie off to the side. "Listen, Steven. I get that you want help Santa and all, but don't you think that's a little much?"

"Yeah, Steven." Said Connie. "I want to help Santa, too, but… can we really pull this off?"

"Sure we can! We're the Crystal Gems, and we always save the day!" Steven declared, quoting his own song. "If we all work together, then we can do it! We can save Christmas!"

"For like a dozen homes." Tinsel quietly remarked with a sideways glance.

"I don't know about you, but I think it's worth a go." Everyone turned and saw Santa smiling at them.

"Sir, with all due respect, are you seriously considering entrusting the delivery of Christmas presents to a couple of kids, a handful of unpredictable Gems, and a millionaire who lives in his van (no offense)?" Tinsel said that last part to the family she was talking about.

"I have full confidence in them, Tinsel. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" Asked Santa.

Tinsel thought it over and realized that he was right. Even if they failed, it wouldn't make a difference since Santa wasn't going to any of the homes anyway.

"(sigh) Alright. I suppose it couldn't cause much harm… I hope."

"Good. Now I want you to send a copy of the Nice List to Peridot's tablet, but only a small part of it with the names of those whom they'll be visiting," Santa then turned to Belle, "and Belle, I want you get the gifts for every last child on that list."

"Yes, sir." Tinsel agreed.

"Aye, aye, Santa." Belle agreed.

The elves then proceeded to fetch that which was requested of them. Using her holo-screen from her watch, Tinsel sent an E-mail to Peri's tablet. Belle took the liberty of removing one gift after the other until there was a tower of them. There were enough gifts to build a well furbished house. Nobody could take their eyes off of it until Belle came up to Connie and gave her a small sack, similar to Santa's.

"Here." She said, handing Connie the sack. "This is a much smaller version of Santa's magic sack. It should hold all of the presents inside."

"And the list is on your tablet." Tinsel told Peri. "I also took the liberty of adding the addresses. Now let's go."

Soon, all of the elves and Santa were on the sleigh. But he didn't leave without saying one last thing.

"Good luck, Crystal Gems." Said Santa with a wink.

"Yes, good luck." Said Tinsel.

The rest of the elves also bid them farewell. Steven and Connie smiled and waved them off.

"Everyone ready?" Asked Santa.

"Dust tanks filled and ready for distribution." Said Tinsel.

"Distributor awaiting designated distributions." Said Belle.

Santa then started calling out the names of his reindeer, and each time he did, that specific reindeer called out in response.

"On Dasher,

on Dancer,

on Prancer and Vixen!"

"Designations accepted." Said Tinsel.

"On Comet,

on Cupid,

on Donner and Blitzen!"

"All reindeer designations accepted." Said Belle.

"Now initiating dust distribution." Tinsel and Belle said in unison as they each pushed a button on either side.

Something golden and shimmering was being released onto the reindeers' hooves.

"Awaiting vocal passcode." Said Tinsel.

"From the top of the porch,

to the top of the wall."

"Passcode accepted." Said Belle.

On the skis of the sleigh, there were brakes that retreated back into the skis.

"Now dash away." Said Tinsel.

The reindeer started running, pulling the sleigh along with them. Their hooves seemed to be sparkling.

"Dash away." Said Belle.

The reindeer and sleigh started to ascend into the air.

"Dash away all!" Santa shouted into the night.

Suddenly, the sleigh took off into the sky faster than a speeding bullet. Everyone watched in awe as Santa's sleigh flew through the sky like a shooting star before disappearing into the night. For a few minutes, everyone was silent as they stared at the sky where Santa just took off from.

"Could somebody pinch me to be sure that this isn't a dream?" Amethyst and Pearl both reached over and pinched Greg's arm. "YOW! I meant one of you!"

"So…" Said Amethyst. "What now?"

Everyone's eyes widened and the Rubies finally unfused, remembering what Steven had them agree to. At this point, the barn Gems saw it fit to leave.

"Huh?" Steven saw them making their way back to the barn and followed them with the others following suit. "Hey, where're you going?!"

"We're going home." Said Jasper.

"But what about the Christmas Presents?"

"What **about** them?"

"We can't just leave them behind." Said Connie.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Asked Bismuth.

"We have to deliver them!" Said Steven.

"Steven." Said Pearl, stepping in front of Steven. "We understand that you just want to help… Santa Claus, but you have to understand that this is… It's too much, even for us. We deal with monsters and… other bad things. But this?"

"But I really think we can do it."

"I know, but—"

" _I_ think we can do it." Said Connie, interrupting Pearl.

Pearl turned to the little human girl.

"Steven, Connie." Pearl shook her head and tried to explain the issues. "We can't just pick up all of those gifts and… break into those homes and… well, there are a lot of issues and problems that could—"

"I think it could work." This time, Pearl was interrupted by Greg. "… um… Maybe."

Pearl looked at him incredulously before turning to Garnet.

"Garnet, please tell Steven that there is no chance of us actually pulling this off."

While Steven and Connie worried about what was happening, Pearl waited to hear what Garnet had to say.

"I can't." Said Garnet.

"What…? Why?!"

"Because then I'd be lying." Garnet smiled slightly as she said this.

"Wha?!"

"I agree with Steven, Connie and Santa. Let's do it."

Steven and Connie smiled at this with stars in their eyes. For about three seconds, no one said anything. Everyone just stared at Garnet.

"… Say—!"

"What?!" All of the barn Gems exclaimed along with Pearl.

"I said, 'We are going to help Santa Claus deliver his Christmas Presents this year'." Garnet repeated.

"And why would we do that?" Peri asked, her tone laced with cynicism.

"Because it's basically all your faults that we're in this situation."

"I seriously said I was sorry like a dozen times." Jasper said in annoyance.

"'Sorry' isn't going to fix this. If you really want to prove that you're sorry, you can at least try to help repair the damage you caused."

Hearing Garnet's words made Jasper's unamused expression turn into a genuinely apologetic one. In fact, everyone in the barn started to understand the weight of the situation.

"But how are we supposed to do that?" Doc asked while raising her hand.

"I think…" Was all that Garnet had to say.

Garnet then turned her body into light so that she could un-fuse into Ruby and Sapphire.

"… I have an idea." Sapphire said.

The Rubies used their thermo-manipulation to heat up the frozen lake, thus allowing it to thaw into water. Using Lapis' hydrokinesis, she manipulated the water into the shape of a sleigh around an old engine (repaired and enhanced, curtesy of Pearl and Peri), wings, a tail (both reinforced to make sure that they didn't break while they were flying in the air, thanks to Bismuth. They had to work fast on those ones) and some old airplane seats. With Jasper and Amethyst doing the heavy lifting (mostly Jasper since it was mostly her fault), there was only one thing left to do before they could load up the presents. Sapphire had taken the liberty of using her own thermo-manipulation to freeze the water sleigh into an ice sleigh.

Everything was ready. Connie decided to help Steven load up the gifts onto the sleigh. With everything, set, Steven, Connie, Doc, Eyeball, Ruby, Sapphire (Ruby and Sapphire had to remain unfused so that Sapphire could keep the sleigh intact, but she and Ruby still sat very close together), Amethyst, Pearl ( _somebody_ had to drive), Greg (he's a worried father. Can you blame him?), Peri (tablet on arm), Lapis (to keep the snow out of their vision) and Jasper all climbed aboard the ice sleigh… sort of.

"Steven," Peri began before departure, "although I can understand yours, Connie's and Greg's reasoning for wearing warmer clothing, but why do we have to dress like this?"

"I just thought it would be more Christmas-y this way." Steven replied with a smile.

Steven was wearing a small, red coat, matching pants, black boots, black mittens and a red winter's cap. Connie was wearing a red winter's dress, red and green tights, black boots, a red and green scarf and white ear muffs (she was already wearing this, but I still thought I should say). Jasper had shape-shifted into a dome around the sack of gifts to keep it from flying out (Eyeball wanted to stay inside of the dome and hold onto the sack to that it wouldn't rock back and forth during flight and hit Jasper too much). Amethyst had shape-shifted into a literal purple puma with bird wings and was tied to the front of the sleigh. Meanwhile, Greg and all of the other Gems were dressed as Christmas elves. Steven and Greg changed while the Gems were getting everything ready.

"But… Amethyst? Why are you a winged puma?" Steven asked the purple Gem.

"Pumas are cool." She said simply.

"Hey, Connie, are you sure your parents are cool with you going with us to save Christmas?" Greg asked.

"I'm sure it'll be alright, so long as I'm home before they wake up." Connie's response didn't really do anything to ease Greg's worry.

"Can't we just get this over with? We're burning moonlight." Said Jasper. "And I don't want to be like this for longer than I have to."

"Does everyone have their seat belts on?" Pearl asked everyone.

"Yes, Pearl." Everyone responded with a roll of their eyes.

"Alright, Amethyst. It's time to go!"

"Alright!" Amethyst said excitedly. "Hold on to your butts!"

She then started running, pulling the sleigh along with her.

"Peri, engines." Pearl said to Peri.

With the press of a few buttons and a few switches flipped, the engine roared to life. Amethyst flapped her large wings and tried to use her strength to pull the sleigh upwards into the air. It was really hard what with all the extra weight.

"Um, Amethyst?" Called Greg when he noticed some trees dead ahead. "I think it's time to pull up now."

"(grunt) (grunt) You don't think I'm trying?!" She responded, trying harder and harder to pull the sleigh.

The trees were getting closer and closer.

"Amethyst, pull up!" Pearl exclaimed.

"I (grunt) am!"

The trees were getting too close.

"We're gonna crash!" Shouted Lapis.

"We're all gonna die!" Shouted Peri, grabbing onto Lapis for dear life (no pun intended, especially since Amethyst **isn't** a reindeer).

"I knew this was stupid idea!" Jasper shouted.

They were all heading straight for the trees… but then they pulled up… dragging Amethyst along. Lapis knew that she couldn't fly in cold air, but she could control ice and Peri could control metal. Working together, they both managed to pull the sleigh up into the air. With the sleigh finally in the air, Amethyst flew in front of it to help keep it up and steady so that Peri and Lapis didn't have to hold it up all night.

"Phew." Said Steven, wiping his brow before regaining his composure. "Alright, let's go save Christmas!"

And so, they all took off into the night.

I have an idea or two about what happens during the gift delivery, but not enough time to come up with more and write them down in this story. I would like to hear what you all think would happen. So, feel free to fill the comment section with what you think happened. And be sure to read the other comments to see what others think.

The moon, up above, shone down on the beach house and temple as the clock struck midnight, but in its light, a small shadow was growing. The shadow grew bigger and bigger until the screaming was too much for Lion to ignore. He opened his eyes and saw that shadow had turned out to be none other than Steven and the Gems.

"Amethyst! Gently!"

"I'm trying!"

Lion ducked underneath the porch before Amethyst crashed into the snow and sand, causing the sleight to crash, too. Fortunately, the snow and sand cushioned the landing. Unfortunately, they ended up buried underneath the snow along with a bunch of ice shards and plane parts. Once everything looked like it had calmed down, Lion came out of hiding and inspected the snow. It took a while, but soon, the snow started to rustle until someone popped out of it.

"We did it!" Steven exclaimed as he emerged before noticing his faithful, feline companion. "Hey, Lion."

"Steven, be careful!" Said Pearl, whose head emerged soon after Steven did. "There are ice shards and large metal pieces everywhere…! Hello, Lion."

A light then emerged from the snow beneath Steven. When the light faded, it turned out to be Garnet, fused once again and lifting Steven out of the snow with her head.

"I've got him." She said before the rest of her emerged from the snow. "And them, too. Hello, Lion."

With her hands now in clear view, it was revealed that she was holding Greg by his elf coat and Connie by her dress.

"Hey/Hi, Lion." The human beings said in unison.

Soon enough, everyone had dug their way out of the snow to see the large, pink beast and greet him as well. Once everyone was finally free of the snow, they turned around saw the mess.

"Guess we're going to have to clean that up." Said Steven.

"Eh. We can get to it in the morning."

"It's midnight, Amethyst." Said Lapis.

"Eh. We can get to it when the sun comes up. (yawn) I'm going inside to catch some Z's"

Amethyst then entered the house to go to sleep. Peri then came up beside Lapis to make a comment.

"Perhaps Amethyst has the right idea."

"Yeah, we should probably get home, too." Said Eyeball.

And so, the barn Gems went inside the house to use the warp so that they could go home. Steven then heard Connie yawn.

"You okay, Connie?" He asked her.

"Yeah, just a little sleepy."

"I've got this." Said Gregg. "C'mon, Connie. I'll drive you home."

"Goodnight, Steven." Connie said as Greg led her away.

"Goodnight, (yawn) Connie." Steven said as she was led away.

Steven's own tired state didn't go unnoticed.

"Alright, Steven." Said Pearl, leading Steven to the house. "Time for bed."

"Saving Christmas takes a lot out of a person." Said Garnet.

"(yawn) Okay."

Meanwhile, someone else was watching the return of the conquering heroes. It was Santa Claus back at the North Pole along with Missus Claus and their elves.

"They did it!" He said, gleefully.

"Yes, they did." Said Tinsel, mildly surprised. "I must admit, I'm mildly surprised."

"Well, I'm not." Said Missus Claus with a smile. "I always knew they could do it."

"Me too," said Wrangle before holding her hand out towards Tinsel, "you own me 10 cookies and a glass of milk."

"Oh, boy." Tinsel responded with a roll of her eyes, taking her pointy hat off so that she could wipe her brow. "You're not the only one I owe.

Once it was finally free of her head, everyone could see that instead of having a full head of hair, her hair was parted to allow space for a small, white gemstone placed in the middle of her head.

"Ho-ho-ho!" Santa laughed at this. "You Selenites will likely never change."

"Not that my Santa would want them too, right, dear?" Missus Claus asked, holding him from behind while resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Of course not, my darling Crystal. But could you please not press your neck in too much? Your gem is scratching me, again."

"Oh, sorry, honey." Crystal Quartz Claus said as she pulled her head away only to rest the side of it on Santa's shoulder.

They all continued to watch Steven and his family enjoy the holidays together.

"Do you think they'll ever know the truth?" Crystal asked her husband.

"Oh, I'm sure they will, in due time." Santa responded as Steven woke up Christmas morning.

Steven looked so happy as he went to go wake everyone up. He decided that instead of enjoying Christmas at home, they should hold a Christmas party at the barn, and so, they did. Even his Uncle Andy flew in to join the festivities. They invited all of their closest friends to the party. They all laughed and played in the snow, some got kisses when they were found under the mistletoe. Even Onion was enjoying himself by sneaking around the place and nailing everyone in the back of the head with snowballs. During the Party, Steven called everyone to begin the Secret Santa gift exchange.

"Now it's time for every Secret Santa to give their gift to their giftee." Steven explained. "I'll go first."

Steven then walked up to Jasper held out a wrapped present.

"I've actually been planning on giving this to you for a while." He explained as she took the small gift into her large hands and started tearing away the wrapping paper. "It's supposed to be a way to say 'Thank you', 'Welcome to the family', and 'I'm glad that you're in it.'"

The gift was actually a homemade, clay picture frame, but instead of a picture in the middle, it was actually a mirror. The frame itself was decorated with actual photos of Steven and the rest of the Gems. Jasper's first response was a tear in her eye, followed by pulling Steven into a hug.

"I don't think I deserve this." She said.

"Of… course you… do." Steven struggled to say from underneath her great arms until she finally released him. "You're a part of our family."

She finally smiled at him.

"Thank you."

He smiled back at her.

"Alright, now it's your turn!" Steven excitedly said to the ultimate Quartz.

"Oh, um, right." She responded, putting her new mirror down and wiping away her tears.

She then got up, picked up the present for her giftee, and walked over to Lapis.

"Here." She said, handing Lapis her gift. "I know I've put you through a lot in the past, but… I really would like to move past it."

Lapis unwrapped the gift and found a necklace with a lapis lazuli in the middle.

"It's not a Gem like you, it's lifeless." Jasper quickly added. "It's just used for bodily decoration."

The gem wasn't alone. There were several other jewels on it, but the lapis lazuli was the largest. When Lapis looked at it with all of the other jewels in it, she thought of all the other jewels as her friends, always beside her, bound together by a silver chain of love and respect. She smiled as she placed the necklace around her neck before looking up at Jasper with the same smile.

"Thanks, Jasper. I'd like that, too."

Seeing her smile made Jasper smile back before sitting back down. Now it was Lapis' turn, but she looked really apprehensive. Still, she got up and walked over to Bismuth.

"Um…" She wasn't sure what to say, but she took a deep breath and produced her gift. "Here."

Bismuth took the present, opened it, and her eyes went wide before her face contorted into a look of confusion.

"Uh… wow… uh… what is it?" She asked in confusion.

"It's a…" Lapis said, holding her arms, "meep-morp I made."

It was some dried up mud in the shape of Bismuth's gem. The inside of it was painted with silver and white specks and streaks designed to resemble shards of glass, like in a mirror. The outside was decorated with hearts of various colors: Pink, Green, etc.

"I want to forgive you for… what happened, but… I know it's going to take a lot of small steps before I get there. I'd like to think that… this is one of those small steps, because… if you had never attacked me all those centuries ago… I never would have met Steven, or Peri, or any of the great friends I now have. So, though I'm still made at you for what you did… I'm also… kind of grateful."

Bismuth smiled at the little mud creation, holding it close with one hand, and holding out her other.

"Thank you, Lapis. I really want to earn your forgiveness, too. And no matter how hard I have to work, I'll get there."

Lapis gave a small smile and accepted the handshake. When Lapis went to sit back down, that meant that it was now Bismuth's turn. She got up and walked over to the side before bringing a large, spiked ball with what looked like a handle on it. She dropped the large weapon attachment before Amethyst.

"I've been working on this for a while and… kinda' forgot about it until recently. Just a way to show that, even though you're small, you can still hit as hard as any Gem, and even harder than most."

"WHOA-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"Do not use that in the house!" Pearl warned.

"Yeah, yeah." Amethyst and Bismuth both responded, tiredly.

Bismuth returned to her place, allowing Amethyst to get up and walk over to Eyeball. She then gave her the gift that she got for her. It was framed photo of her big sister, Jasper, standing tall and inspirational. She was elated to have received such a present, but Amethyst gave her a gesture that said "Shhh…" so that Jasper wouldn't know, since she didn't really know that her sister took the picture in the first place. Eyeball then gave Doc her gift, it was a smartwatch. Far more practical than Peri's tablet, but had less functions. Doc then walked up to Peri and presented her gift. It was a new tablet, the latest version. With stars in her eyes, she tossed away her old one and replaced it with her new one. Now, it was Peri's turn. She walked up to Garnet and gave her a heart that looked like it was made out of two metals melting into one another. One have was blue while the other was red.

"Before we left the mall, I saw this in the wreckage of the crashed carts. They appeared to have melted into each other into… this. I managed to get outside, into the snow, before it could… um… hurt more. After words, all that was left was to paint the two sides. It made me think of you, even though separate, you can be something great, together you've become something… amazing."

Garnet smiled at Peri and tussled her hair.

"Thank you, Peri. I really appreciate this."

Then it was Garnet's turn. She got up and walked out of the barn for a moment, only to walk back in and produce two presents before Army. One was a brand new punching bag while the other was a charm bracelet with a boxing glove charm and a karate charm on it.

"Consider these as one singular gift from Ruby and Sapphire." She said.

Army cheered and put on the bracelet before starting to punch and kick her new bag repeatedly. That is, until she was reminded that she still had to give her gift. So she quickly ran over to Navy and gave her the gift that she "bought" for her. It was a sparkle gun that could decorate almost any surface.

"Oh, my gosh! I love it!" She exclaimed as Army went back to her bag.

Navy decided to test her toy out on the ground and it worked like a charm. Then, it was her turn. She walked over to Pearl and gave her a… hair clip. Suffice to say, she loved it. Navy thought she looked lovely, and nobody argued. Pearl then stood up and walked up to Greg. She gave him a box, and inside was a top hat.

"I just saw it and was reminded of when we first officially became friends." She said to him before moving it close to whisper something into his ear. "Plus it was the only thing they allowed me to buy before kicking me out."

Greg placed the hat on his head and smiled at her, trying to look suave, before giving her a genuine smile.

"Thanks, Pearl." He said, holding out his hand.

Pearl was going to take but decided at the last minute to instead just give him a hug. When she broke the hug and returned to her seat, both she and Greg had deep blushes on their faces, which Greg saw fit to hide behind his hat. Next was Greg, who walked up to Leggy and gave her a little, red drum with matching drumsticks.

"Leggy, we don't know each other very well, but often notice how confused you can be sometimes. In my life, whenever I was confused, there was always one thing that I was sure of, music. Now, you can make your own music."

"Oh, cool!" She exclaimed, holding up her drumsticks. "… How do I use it?"

Greg's eyes widened for a minute before he started chuckling.

"You just have to hit it."

"Oh, okay." Leggy said with a smile before throwing her sticks away and just hitting it with her bare hands.

"Heh-heh. Not bad." Greg said with a nervous laugh before walking away to sit down.

Finally, it was time for the final gift, Leggy's gift to Steven.

"Huh? Wha?" She questioned when Doc told her to give Steven her gift for him. "Oh… Oh no! I forgot to buy one!"

Everyone groaned at Leggy's incompetence but Steven who walked up to her with a supportive grin on his face.

"Oh, Leggy. You already gave me the greatest present of all."

"I did?"

"Yep, your friendship." Steven then wrapped his arms around her and gave her a great big hug, which she soon returned. "Merry Christmas, everyone!"

"Merry Christmas, Steven!" Everyone exclaimed to Steven before gathering together for a group hug, which soon turned into a group photo.

And that is the end of the story. And now from me to all of you, despite what time of year you read this, I just want to wish you a Merry Christmas.


End file.
